Abramovich loses High Court spat to Deripaska
IT MIGHT have been billed a battle between David and two Goliaths – if not for the fact that all three are billionaires with very deep pockets.
And in the High Court fight between Roman Abramovich, Vladimir Potanin and Oleg Deripaska it was the ‘minnow’ who has emerged triumphant.
Deripaska, worth £2.8 billion, has won the latest round in the legal spat with Vladimir Potanin, valued at £11.4 billion, over control of Russia’s biggest mining company.
A High Court judge has ruled that Abramovich, who is worth £8.7 billion, cannot sell his minority stake in mining giant Norilsk Nickel (NN) to Potanin. The dispute, which has raged for years, became so protracted in 2012 that Russian President Vladimir Putin stepped in and installed Abramovich as a minority shareholder to keep the peace.
Deripaska, through the firm Rusal, and Potanin each control about 30 per cent of NN. Abramovich took a 5 per cent share, worth around £1.5 billion, through Cyprus-registered Crispian Investments.
But the deal expired in 2017 and Deripaska sought a High Court injunction to block Abramovich selling his share to Potanin’s Cyprus-based White leave Holdings.
Justice Stephen Phillips said the agreement between the parties makes clear shares can only be disposed to a ‘bona fide third party purchaser’ that ‘excludes’ Crispian.
He called Potanin’s evidence ‘not convincing’ and noted Abramovich had neither lodged a witness statement nor appeared before the court, citing prior commitments.
Spokesmen for Abramovich and Rusal both declined to comment. Lawyers for White leave did not respond.