Dmitry Rybolovlev has divested a 53.2% stake in Russia’s largest potash miner, JSC Uralkali, through a three-cornered sale, in a move that could lead towards the formation of a Russian potash monopoly, a source from one of the buyers informed IM.
According to the source, the deal paves the way for Uralkali to be linked with the country’s second largest producer, OAO Silvinit, which would combine into the world’s second largest company with a capacity of 10.6m. tpa.
Uralkali is also the power behind the Belarusian Potash Co. (BPC), the swing seller and market maker in the global potash trade. Both have been controlled until now by Rybolovlev.
At peak demand for potash in June 2008, London-listed Uralkali was valued in the stock markets at $34.3bn. But after grain and fertiliser prices collapsed that autumn, Uralkali’s share price ended the year at...