United Company Rusal (UCR) is set to list before the end of the March quarter in 2008, said the chairman of Siberian-Urals Aluminium (SUAL), one of the three companies merging to form what will be the world`s largest aluminium producer.
"We may even be able to come to an IPO (initial public offering) next year," said SUAL`s Victor Vekselberg. OAO Rusal and the alumina assets of Swiss trader Glencor International make up the UCR partnership which was first announced in October.
"This is a very ambitious target, but I believe this should happen not later than the first quarter of 2008," added Mr Vekselberg in an interview with Bloomberg.
The merger is expected to be closed by the middle of next year and the latest comments show that plans for the IPO, almost certainly in London, are far more advanced than the original time-frame which suggested that a listing would have to come "within three years of closing the deal."
Under the terms of the all-share merger, Rusal`s holding company, EN+, will hold 66% of the combined company, Sual`s shareholders 22% and Glencore 12% - with up to 20% of the company available to institutions and the public through the listing
The combined Rusal group will produce about 4 Mt/y of aluminium and 11 Mt/y of alumina, respectively 12.5% and 16% of world production, employing 110,000 people in operations in 17 countries.
The merged group would become the largest aluminium producer in the world leapfrogging the Canadian operator Alcan and would be second only to the US`s Alcoa as a producer of alumina.
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