Former Norilsk Nickel first deputy director general Alexander Popov
joined Mikhail Prokhorov's investment group Onexim Thursday as executive
director of the group, after a brief stint of just over a month at Norilsk.
A source told Platts that Popov had made the move on Monday after leaving
Norilsk, the world's largest nickel producer, at the end of September. Popov
joined Norilsk in August from Rosbank where he was chairman of the board. He
has been replaced by Oleg Modestovich, former executive director of Dinamo
Telecom, who joined Norilsk in August as an adviser to the company's chief
executive, former KGB-officer Vladimir Strzhalkovsky.
The move represents further management level change at Norilsk. The
company has been objected to an escalating battle for board control between
its two major shareholders, oligarch Vladimir Potanin and aluminium mining
major UC Rusal, owned by Oleg Deripaska, one of Russia's richest men since
Rusal bought a 25% stake in Norilsk from Onexim group boss Prokhorov in April.
Prokhorov's sale of his stake to Rusal came after he decided to split from
long-time business partner Potanin.
Popov said in a statement that his purpose was to "implement the group's
financial strategy." He added that the financial sector was being restructured
due to weakened positions of some large players and that, "it is the right
time for financial institutions having access to significant funds and a
professional team to take over the market."
The move comes in a week when nickel prices tanked to lows not seen since
1999, as the base metal's price dropped below $10,000/mt. The metal has lost
over 80% of its value in May 2007, which saw nickel reach highs of over
$50,000/mt. Three month nickel on the London Metal Exchange was bid at around
$9,000/mt Friday morning.
--Michelle Madsen, michelle_madsen@platts.com
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