RUSAL defers $700 mln Norilsk payment again- paper

MOSCOW, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Russian aluminium major RUSAL has agreed with billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov to defer again a $700 million tranche for the purchase of his stake in mining giant Norilsk Nickel, a newspaper said on Monday. RUSAL, which had already agreed with Prokhorov to move the original deadline of the payment to Nov.15 from Oct.24, will make the payment in two tranches, by Dec.1 and Feb.1, Vedomosti business daily reported citing a source close to RUSAL. A source close to Prokhorov's Onexim group confirmed to Vedomosti that the payment was deferred but declined to comment on the dates. In April RUSAL, the world's largest aluminium producer, agreed to pay Prokhorov an undisclosed cash sum, estimated at $7 billion, and give a 14 percent stake in the firm in exchange for 25 percent of Norilsk. RUSAL paid the biggest chunk of $4.5 billion with credit from 11 Western banks. Apart from the $700 million tranche, it has to pay the remaining $1.8 billion by April 2009. The sides have not held talks on deferring the last payment, Vedomosti said. Russia's richest man Oleg Deripaska, who controls RUSAL, has been forced to divest a number of his assets last month under margin calls from bank lenders amid tumbling stock prices. The lost assets included stakes in Canadian car part maker Magna and German builder Hochtief that were returned to lenders at steep discounts.