NoD: Interros owners to split assets

Two owners of the US$15 bln worth holding decided to split their assets.

Mikhail Prokhorov will resign as CEO of Norilsk Nickel and divide his assets in holding company Interros with longtime business partner and Interros president Vladimir Potanin, Interros said Wednesday. Prokhorov, who should pocket $7.5 billion from his Norilsk shares alone, said he intended to create an electricity holding that would be part of Interros. Potanin will buy out Prokhorov's blocking stake in Norilsk and other assets within Interros to ensure "a new level of freedom in carrying out executive decisions," Interros said in a statement. It was not clear who would replace Prokhorov at Norilsk, but Potanin would be the de facto head with a stake of around 55 percent. The statement said Potanin had been nominated to the company's board of directors.

Prokhorov said he "seriously" intended to apply himself to the business of traditional and alternative electricity production. A 35 percent stake in a U.S.-based producer of electric fuel cells, Plug Power Inc., will go to Prokhorov as part of the split, as will Smart Hydrogen, a joint alternative-energy venture between Norilsk and Interros.

Prokhorov was famously engaged in the recent scandal in the Alpine ski resort, when police taken him into custody for investigation of the suspected prostitution ring. This could be one of the reasons which triggered separation between Prokhorov and Potanin, as the latter tries to maintain his image of a respectful businessman.

Why it is important: Along with the recent split of assets in US$8 bln worth MDM Group between Andrei Melnichenko and Sergei Popov, this sets an interesting trend for crafting new ownership structure in Russian large-scale business.