By Eric Onstad
LONDON (Reuters) - Ukrainian iron ore producer Ferrexpo Plc (FXPO.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is keen to buy regional peers, but such companies must first boost transparency to Western standards, Ferrexpo said on Wednesday.
The primary focus of Ferrexpo is still an ambitious expansion plan, but it is also looking at opportunities to grow by acquisition, Chief Executive Mike Oppenheimer told the Reuters Global Mining Summit in London.
"We would be interested in consolidation in the Ukraine and the CIS, but we can't really participate because there isn't the transparency that we need," he said.
"What we are now looking to do is ... get them to transform themselves to a point where they are transparent enough to justify the kind of due diligence we would want to do on them."
Ferrexpo itself is a good example of how privatized state assets can relatively quickly boost financial and corporate governance standards.
The world's 12th-largest producer of iron ore pellets became the first Ukrainian company to list on the main market of the London Stock Exchange when it floated last June.
"It's a six- to 12-month exercise, I think, for one of these Ukrainian producers to transform themselves into an entity that is transparent enough to value, for us to go to our investors and say we want to do a deal," Oppenheimer said.
"We are keeping our eyes and ears open, but we have nothing specific on the agenda at this particular point in time." Continued...
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