Uralkali rises after CEO moved from Belarus prison
POTASH producer Uralkali rose yesterday after CEO Vladislav Baumgertner was moved from a Belarus prison to house arrest.
Belarus officials said they had moved Mr Baumgertner from a KGB prison to a rented flat in Minsk in a sign that a dispute that roiled the $20bn potash market may be nearing resolution.
The move by Belarus authorities was “unexpected”, Mr Baumgertner’s lawyer Alexei Basistov said yesterday.
No decision has been made on seeking more lenient terms of detention for the executive, Mr Basistov said.
Mr Baumgertner was arrested a month ago at Minsk airport following talks he attended at the invitation of Belarus Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich over his company’s withdrawal from the Belarusian Potash Company (BPC) trading venture. Belarus has called for the arrest of Uralkali’s billionaire shareholder Suleiman Kerimov, who has since held talks on selling his stake. Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov’s Onexim Group was said to be among the Uralkali bidders.
Belaruskali, Uralkali’s partner in the BPC venture that controlled 40% of global potash exports, has said a reconciliation would not be possible unless the Russian firm changes its strategy or owner.
The Uralkali CEO’s transfer to house arrest became possible after an inquiry of the abuse of office charge against him was completed, RIA Novosti reported, citing Valentin Shayev, the head of Belarus’s investigative committee. Authorities also considered a plea from Mr Baumgertner’s family,
RIA cited Mr Shayev as saying: “The executive was charged in his capacity as chairman of Uralkali’s former marketing venture with Belarus.” The Uralkali CEO’s mother won his release from prison with an appeal to Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, RIA reported, citing defence attorney Anna Slavina.
He is now being kept under “surveillance by the KGB operatives” at the apartment, Mr Basistov said by e-mail.
On July 30, Berezniki, Russia-based Uralkali withdrew from the BPC venture and said it would ramp up production, sending shares of rival suppliers including Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan and Tel Avivbased Israel Chemicals tumbling.
Mr Prokhorov’s Onexim is among potential bidders for Mr Kerimov and his partner’s stakes in Uralkali.
Russian entrepreneur Vladimir Kogan, a long-time ally of President Vladimir Putin, is the leading candidate to buy the billionaire’s Uralkali stake, peo- ple said on September 13.
Other potential approaches may come from billionaires Mikhail Gutseriev and Vladimir Evtushenkov, Forbes Russia reported this month.
A decline in potash prices threatens President Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus since 1994. A final payment from a Russian-led $3bn bail-out loan is planned this year. The cash is tied to policies, including state asset sales.
“The market is expecting a resolution of Uralkali’s conflict with Belarus,” Oleg Popov, who manages $1bn of securities for Allianz Investments, the assetmanagement arm of Europe’s biggest insurer, said.