* Demand from new investors positive - VTBBy Olga Popova and John BowkerMOSCOW, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Russian gold and silver miner
Polymetal has secured a $100 million investment from
Moscow investment bank VTB Capital as part of its
planned listing on the London Stock Exchange, the company’s deal
prospectus showed on Friday.Russia’s fourth-largest gold producer and largest silver
miner last year, Polymetal said in September it wanted to raise
$500 million and gain a premium London listing in an attempt to
enter the FTSE 100 blue-chip index .”VTB Capital has a long-standing relationship with Polymetal
and has taken this decision in support of the company.
Ultimately, the investment will only represent … around 1
percent,” Alex Metherell, head of natural resources at VTB
Capital, told Reuters.He added the bank was not locked into the shares for a given
period, unlike a cornerstone investor in a traditional initial
public offering (IPO).Under the terms of the deal, Polymetal’s Moscow-listed
shares and its London-listed Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs)
will be exchanged for stock in a New Jersey-based holding
company, Polymetal International, that will list in London.The move is designed to increase liquidity in the stock,
attract foreign investors keen for exposure to the gold sector,
and raise cash for acquisitions.A similar type of move is planned by Russia’s top gold miner
Polyus Gold , which reversed into Kazakh firm Kazakh
Gold to obtain a London listing.Polymetal is hoping to price the shares for the placement on
October 28, financial market sources told Reuters on Friday.Another source said the deal book would not open until
October 24.”Marketing to potential new investors was launched this
morning. There is a lot of interest in a gold stock coming to
the London market, and our initial impression is there will be
positive interest from investors,” VTB’s Metherell said.Polymetal Chief Executive Vitaly Nesis told Reuters this
week there was investor support for the deal despite recent
market volatility.The company’s main shareholders are Nesis, Czech private
equity group PPF, and billionaire Alexander Mamut, owner of
British bookseller Waterstone’s.HSBC and Morgan Stanley are acting as joint
sponsors to Polymetal International for the listing.Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Morgan Stanley are acting as joint
global co-ordinators and, together with VTB Capital, as joint
bookrunners in relation to the offer. Collins Stewart is co-lead
manager for the offer.
Tags:
UPDATE
1Polymetal
gets
VTB
as
$100
mln
investor
15 notes
* Saab says still expects money, won’t say when* Swedish Automobile shares fall 6 pct* China’s BAIC not interested in Saab restructuring -
chairman
(Changes dateline, adds more detail, Saab CEO, BAIC comments)By Veronica Ek and Sara WebbSTOCKHOLM/AMSTERDAM, Oct 11 (Reuters) - The administrator in
charge of Saab’s restructuring under court protection
could pull the plug on the process as early as Tuesday, paving
the way for declaring the auto maker bankrupt, daily newspaper
Svenska Dagbladet reported.Saab has struggled for months to stave off collapse, seeking
new investors and selling off assets to pay suppliers and
employees and resume production at its plant in Sweden.Swedish news agency TT said the ending of the creditor
protection process and possible bankruptcy was one of the
options being considered at talks in Stockholm but that there
were other alternatives.Shares in Saab-owner Swedish Automobile fell 6 percent by
1240 GMT.Saab has still not received a vital bridge loan of 70
million euros ($96 million) that was secured by Chinese car firm
Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile, money that is key to its
short-term survival.Saab spokeswoman Gunilla Gustavs said the car maker still
expected to get the Youngman bridge loan.The paper said the court-appointed administrator could
decide as early as Tuesday to ask a court to end Saab’s period
of protection from creditors. The administrator, Guy Lofalk,
could not immediately be reached for comment.If the restructuring process looks unlikely to succeed,
Saab’s creditors, the administrator or Saab itself could ask for
creditor protection to be withdrawn, Cecilia Tisell, a judge at
the local court told Reuters. No such request had come in so
far, she added.Saab chief executive Victor Muller told Reuters in a phone
text message: “Things are moving along fine and we do not intend
to request the replacement of Mr Lofalk as administrator.”Swedish media have reported tensions between Lofalk and Saab
after Lofalk reportedly raised the idea that the government
should take over Saab’s debt to the European Investment Bank in
return for shares in the car maker, which it would then sell to
a Chinese car producer.Any decision to end the reconstruction process would be
Lofalk’s, Muller added.Saab won breathing space from creditors in late September,
but still needs fresh money. It had hoped protection from
creditors would allow it to survive until Chinese authorities
approve a 245 million euro ($336 million) investment by car
firms Youngman and Pangda . A decision by China’s
NDRC could come as early as Friday.Youngman looks to be Saab’s last hope of surviving.The chairman of China’s BAIC Group, which owns some rights
to Saab’s old platforms, said it was not interested in
rescuing the 60 year-old Swedish brand.”We are not interested in getting involved in Saab’s
restructuring,” Xu Heyi told reporters on the sidelines of an
industry forum in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu.Chinese car group Geely, which bought Volvo in 2010, denied
reports last week that it was interested in Saab.The paper also quoted Swedish Debt Office official Daniel
Barr as rejecting reports that the government could pay off
Saab’s debt to the European Investment Bank and convert the
security on the loan to shares in Saab.”No, the Debt Office does not have any such mandate,” he
said.
($1 = 0.732 Euros)
Tags:
UPDATE
2Saab
faces
new
bankruptcy
threat
in
crunch
talks
22 notes
button
