No-money transaction

Vasiliy Anisimov will only receive $600 million of $2,5 billion of proceeds from the sale of shares of “Metalloinvest” to VTB. If a British court rules in his favour.

Bloomberg informs: having sold 20% of “Metalloinvest” to VTB for $2,5 billion, businessman Vasiliy Anisimov settled an old debt with the state bank with the larger portion of the proceeds. The businessman only received $600 million, but even this, under the terms of the transaction, were credited to a special deposit account because of court claims by B.Berezovskiy. Two persons close to different parties of the transaction confirmed the information to “Vedomosti”.

B.Berezovsky lays claim to a half of V.Anisimov’s stock. B.Berezovsky alleges that, in early 2000’s, he and his late partner Badri Patarkatsishvili transferred $500 million to the accounts of V.Anisimov’s companies in order to purchase securities of Mikhaylovsky ore-dressing and processing plant. For this, V.Anisimov was to give to B.Berezovsky and B.Patarkatsishvili 5% of “Metalloinvest” each – after its establishment. The hearing in the British court is to commence in autumn of 2012. In order to close the transaction of V.Anisimov with VTB, an approval of the High Court of London was required, said the interlocutors of “Vedomosti”. A person close to V.Anisimov confirmed that the businessman had appealed to the court for such approval.

Arthur Rokhlin, Partner at the Firm, explains that V.Anisimov has no access to the money for a certain period of time or until a court decision is made, since the money is currently on a special account.

B.Berezovsky told “Vedomosti” that this was a minimum guarantee: his claims were not limited to $600 million. Last year he said to “Vedomosti”: Even if we suppose that I lay claim to 5% according to the evaluation of the company made before the crisis, this stock costs $1,25 billion”.

The tender for 20% of “Metalloinvest” was held in December of 2011.

Approximately 20 participants filed their applications, several of them passed into the finals, and VTB was declared the winner, the participants of the tender told “Vedomosti”. The next day after the tender, VTB and V.Anisimov’s Coalco Metals signed the agreement; the transaction is to be concluded in the 1st quarter of 2012. The price of the stock turned out to be much lower that the estimate of “Metalloinvest” for initial placement in 2010 - $20-30 billion. Sergey Donskoy, analyst with Societe Generale, believes that “Metalloinvest” costs $15-20 billion.

V.Anisimov negotiated the sale of the stock for $2,5 billion with Sberbank before VTB. It was conjectured that later the state bank could sell the securities to another shareholder of “Metalloinvest” – Alisher Usmanov – or to investors on IPO, persons close to V.Anisimov and Sberbank told. Sberbank took no part in the tender.

Representatives of VTB and V.Anisimov refused comments. Representative of “Metalloinvest” did not answer the “Vedomosti”’s questions. Advocates of Addleshaw Goddard law firm, who represent B.Berezovsky, gave no commentaries.

For more detail see here.