(forbes.ru) - Andrey Zharkov, the president of the diamond mining company, told Forbes on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum what investors, other than Viktor Vekselberg, are going to participate in the privatization of 10.9% of its shares.
According to a report by Interfax, the privatization of state-owned shares in ALROSA may take place this summer. Earlier, Alexei Ulyukayev, Minister of Economic Development told the Russia 24 TV Channel that the company’s equities are planned to be sold on the Moscow Exchange for at least 60 billion rubles. President of ALROSA Andrey Zharkov discribed how the preparation for one of the largest privatization deals of the year was going on.
- The main question to your company is related to the upcoming privatization of the state-owned block of shares. This past winter, Viktor Vekselberg voiced his interest towards the shares of ALROSA. Are there any negotiations on this issue now?
- We are definitely not taking part in these negotiations and there is no way we can, because the stake in the company is being sold by the Russian State represented by the Russian Federation Government, namely by the Federal Property Management Agency. So, we are not the party to conduct such negotiations with. As of today, it is public knowledge that the President of the Russian Federation has issued a decree that allows reducing the shareholding of the Russian State by selling a 10.9% stake. Sberbank has been chosen to act as a selling agent and it works in team with the government to sell this block of shares.
- Will this sale permit to finance any investment projects of ALROSA?
- Not as far as I know, it is expected that the money will go to the federal budget as one of the sources to replenish its revenue.
- And in what way are you currently funding your investment needs? Do you have any, generally?
- They are there, and [these issues] are resolved at the expense of the proceeds from the sale of rough diamonds.
- What kind of proceeds do you have now? What is the trend?
- The first quarter results (they have already been published) demonstrate that the company’s revenue and sales are growing compared with the same period last year and the fourth quarter of the last year as well. This is a significant increase [The revenue went up to 102.3 billion rubles, having increased by 37%. - Forbes]. The company earned about 50 billion rubles in net profits, driving its EBITDA margin to a record high of 58% - that is, all financial indicators are higher than those for the previous year.
- It is clear that the government is engaged in the sale of your shares. But maybe you know who is interested in the company’s stake, except Vekselberg?
- I will reply in this way: We have recently returned from a trip to the Asia-Pacific countries - we visited Hong Kong, Singapore and held meetings with investors. Afterwards, we had a non-deal road show in the United States and the United Kingdom. The interest of investors in these countries is obvious.
- In spite of the sanctions?
- Yes, given that today a significant portion of the shares that are in free float belongs to American and British investors.
- Is there any interest from De Beers?
- Not that I know of.
