Low energy
Russian oligarch Deripaska poised to reduce his shares in EN+ to beat US sanctions
RUSSIAN billionaire Oleg Deripaska is poised to sell down his stake in EN+ as the aluminium and power company seeks to escape crippling US sanctions.
Mr Deripaska has agreed a deal in principle with EN+’S board that would see him reduce his stake from 70pc to below 50pc in a desperate bid to free the London-listed company from sanctions that threaten its ability to trade in US dollars.
Greg Barker, the former Tory minister who serves as EN+’S chairman, has been involved in frantic “shuttle diplomacy” between London and Moscow since news of the shock sanctions broke earlier this month.
EN+ has lodged a desperate appeal with the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) to allow it more time to comply with its demands to end Mr Deripaska’s control of the company or face being frozen out of international markets altogether.
The sanctions are due to begin on May 7, but it is understood that EN+ is seeking an extension until the end of October to allow Lord Barker time to restructure the company’s ownership.
To escape sanctions EN+ needs Mr Deripaska to give up his controlling interest in the company. He has also agreed to resign from the board and has consented to new directors being appointed so that the group’s board will comprise a majority of new independent directors. The tycoon stepped down as president of EN+ and its subsidiary Rusal earlier this year in a vain attempt to avoid being blacklisted by the US.
EN+’S global depositary receipts have plunged 50pc in London since it was named alongside Mr Deripaska on the US sanctions list at the start of the month. The sanctions – among the toughest ever mounted by the US – were imposed by the Trump administration on a swathe of companies and individuals in response to “malign activities” by Russia, including the Kremlin’s alleged involvement in a poison attack in Salisbury in March.
Lord Barker joined EN+ at the time of its controversial listing on the London Stock Exchange last year.
He has been attacked by politicians for staying silent on EN+’S plight and clinging to his job even as two other non-russian directors quit the board in the immediate aftermath of the sanctions being announced. Sources close to Lord Barker insisted he had stayed on at EN+ to protect the interests of minority shareholders, who have not been able to ditch their stakes since the restrictions were announced.
Should EN+ fail to convince Ofac to grant it more time to comply, it is thought likely trading of its GDRS in London will be suspended in due course. EN+’S float in London last year was the largest by a Russian company since the country was hit with sanctions following its annexation of Crimea in 2014.