Nornickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper, notifies holders of American depositary receipts representing rights to the Company's shares ("ADRs") that certain amendments to Federal Law No. 114-FZ "On Amendments to the Federal Law on Joint Stock Companies and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation" dated April 16, 2022 (the "Law") became effective on 14 July 2022.
The Law introduces automatic and forced conversions of ADRs into the Company’s shares underlying ADRs without the involvement of the depositary bank under the Company's ADR program (BNY Mellon).
The automatic conversion means conversion of ADRs, the rights to which are recorded in Russian depositaries, without applications for conversion from the relevant ADRs holders. The automatic conversion will be made in accordance with the procedure, and within the period, set out by the decision of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Russia.
The forced conversion may be used for ADRs, the rights to which are recorded in foreign organizations and whose holders cannot receive the underlying Company's shares due to foreign restrictive measures or unfriendly actions. In this case such ADRs holders may, within 90 days from the Law’s effective date (July 14, 2022), apply to the ADR program custodian (JSC Raiffeisenbank) for the forced conversion, attaching documents confirming ownership of ADRs and other documents. After the deadline for accepting applications for the forced conversion, the custodian shall open depo holder accounts for eligible applicants and credit the respective number of the underlying Company's shares to such accounts.
According to the information disclosed by the depositary bank (BNY Mellon), in the event that any underlying Company's shares are removed from the depositary program depo account in connection with the automatic or forced conversion, BNY Mellon plans to close the ADR program for cancellation of ADRs and suspend the processing of any corporate actions (including voting) until a complete reconciliation of the number of securities.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
MMC Norilsk Nickel is a diversified mining and metallurgical company, the world’s largest producer of palladium and high-grade nickel and a major producer of platinum and copper. The company also produces cobalt, rhodium, silver, gold, iridium, ruthenium, selenium, tellurium and other products.
The production units of Norilsk Nickel Group are located at the Norilsk Industrial District, on the Kola Peninsula and Zabaykalsky Krai in Russia as well as in Finland.
MMC Norilsk Nickel shares are listed on the Moscow and on the Saint-Petersburg Stock Exchanges, ADRs are accepted for trading on the Saint-Petersburg Stock Exchange.
Norilsk Nickel fully supports the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The Company considers social responsibility and commitment to the principles of sustainable development as one of the pillars of operational efficiency and business development. Nornickel seeks to continuously improve its activities in the areas of environmental protection, human rights, health and safety, environmental impact assessment, and biodiversity preservation. The company spent RUB 221.5 billion on SDG-linked projects in 2021.
