VEB offers two state candidates to Norilsk board
MOSCOW, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Russian state bank VEB has recommended two candidates to the board of mining giant Norilsk Nickel (GMKN.MM), including powerful Kremlin deal-broker Alexander Voloshin, a shareholder said on Thursday.
Norilsk Nickel's rival private shareholders - billionaire Vladimir Potanin's Interros and billionaire Oleg Deripaska's UC RUSAL - agreed earlier this week to resolve a dispute over management strategy and board composition.
The two sides agreed that one state representative would join the 13-person board at an extraordinary meeting scheduled for Dec. 26.
The arrival of a state representative became inevitable after state bank VEB helped UC RUSAL repay a $4.5 billion loan to foreign lenders. RUSAL borrowed from Western banks to build up a stake in Norilsk and was forced to put it as collateral with VEB after getting the state rescue package.
Analysts say Norilsk could ultimately end up under state control but government officials argue they do not plan to use the crisis to strengthen the grip over strategic sectors.
On Thursday, RUSAL said it was supporting VEB's nomination of Voloshin as the state representative to Norilsk's board one day after Interros said it also welcomes Voloshin for the job.
RUSAL also said VEB had nominated Sergei Chemezov, the head of state car-to-mining conglomerate Rostechnologies, as a second candidate.
It was not immediately clear whether VEB had proposed Chemezov as a reserve candidate or if it could ask private shareholders to vote for two state candidates to Norilsk's board.
Voloshin has served as chief of staff under Russian Presidents Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin and is believed to have remained one of the most powerful Kremlin advisers.
Deripaska's agreeement with Norilsk chairman Potanin involved a commitment that neither man would stand for election to Norilsk's board.
On Thursday, RUSAL said its own list of nominees includes chief executive Alexander Bulygin, deputy chief executive Valery Matvienko, board of directors members Vladislav Soloviev and Dmitry Afanasyev as well as Maxim Sokov, who serves as UC RUSAL's director for investment management. (Reporting by Alfred Kueppers and Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Marguerita Choy)
