RUSAL head says has money to pay tranche to Nornickel

LIMA, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Russia's aluminium major RUSAL will pay on time a deferred $700 million tranche to billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov for the purchase of his stake in mining giant Norilsk Nickel, RUSAL co-owner Oleg Deripaska said on Saturday. "We found the money. The deal will be closed on time, there is no problem," Deripaska, who controls RUSAL, told reporters in the Peruvian capital Lima where he accompanied President Dmitry Medvedev at an Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. Earlier this week, Vedomosti newspaper said RUSAL had agreed with Prokhorov to defer again the tranche originally due on Oct. 24. According to Vedomosti, RUSAL, which had already agreed with Prokhorov to move the original deadline of the payment to Nov.15, is to make the payment in two tranches, by Dec.1 and Feb.1. In April RUSAL, the world's largest aluminium producer, agreed to pay Prokhorov an undisclosed cash sum, estimated at $7 billion, and give him 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.