UC RUSAL unlikely to float shares in 2007

MOSCOW, Sept 20 - United Company RUSAL, the world's largest primary aluminium producer, is unlikely this year to proceed with an initial public offering in London, Russian business daily Vedomosti said on Thursday. Vedomosti, citing unnamed sources, said the IPO had been postponed indefinitely due to unfavourable market conditions. UC RUSAL has always said it planned an IPO within three years of its formation in March 2007, when RUSAL merged with rival Russian producer SUAL and assets of trader Glencore. "We are planning an IPO within the next three years. There has been no decision by the board of directors otherwise," a company spokeswoman told Reuters on Thursday. Billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, UC RUSAL's non-executive chairman and a significant minority shareholder, said on May 15 the IPO could take place in November and that a decision was expected in August or September. JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank were pre-listed as global coordinators of a deal that could raise as much as $9 billion, sources close to the deal have told Reuters. The global liquidity crunch that originated in the U.S. subprime mortgage market and has led to a sell-off in equities is likely to deter companies worldwide from listing shares. Russia, which has a budget surplus and the world's third-largest gold and foreign exchange reserves, is seen as having an economy robust enough to withstand the threat. UC RUSAL produces about one-eighth of the world's aluminium and 15 percent of its alumina.