Mr Rothschild to invest in aluminium company Rusal

The Telegraph reported that Mr Nat Rothschild has agreed to become a cornerstone investor in next month's flotation of Rusal, the Russian aluminium company controlled by the billionaire Mr Oleg Deripaska. As per report, Nat Rothschild is thought to be one of four main investors to sign up for shares ahead of Rusal’s listing which is predicted to be one of the biggest of 2010. Mr Rothschild is thought to be buying a stake through NR Investments, a private vehicle. He has close ties with Mr Deripaska and has acted as his investment adviser. The others are Paulson & Co, the American hedge fund giant run by Mr John Paulson, Mr Robert Kuok the Malaysian Chinese tycoon and Vnesheconombank or VEB, the Russian state development bank. The investors will be guaranteed shares in the flotation in exchange for a pledge not to sell them for a number of months. Rusal plans to raise USD 2 billion by selling a 10% stake with the company set for a primary listing in Hong Kong and a secondary listing in Paris on January 29. Rusal has planned the initial public offering in an attempt to reduce its USD 17 billion debt burden. The company’s debts doubled last year after it went on an acquisition spree shortly before commodity prices collapsed. The pre-marketing is planned to start on Monday. The investor road show is set for January 12, starting in Hong Kong and moving through Singapore, the UK, Europe and the US. Bank of China International, BNP Paribas, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse are book runners on the deal. (Sourced from TheTelegraph.co.uk)