Russia's En+ to buy 21.4% of its shares from VTB for $1.6 bln (updated)

En+ MKPAO

06/02/2020 08:20

(Adds detail, background)
    By Vladimir Soldatkin
    MOSCOW, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Russia's En+ Group  ENPLq.L  said
on Thursday it will buy back 21.4% of its shares from state bank
VTB  VTBR.MM  for $1.6 billion, as it seeks to simplify its
ownership structure to  focus on development after the United
States lifted sanctions. 
    Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, seen as a close ally to
President Vladimir Putin, had agreed to cede its control over
En+, an aluminium and hydropower group, following a deal with
Washington, which had targeted the company with sanctions.
    The arrangements to avoid the sanctions were lobbied by En+
Chairman Gregory Barker, a former UK energy minister. The
company said on Thursday that the acquisition of its shares from
VTB would not be at odds with the "Barker Plan".
    "The shares acquired secure future optionality to pursue our
strategy to create a global, integrated low-carbon aluminium
producer and the opportunity over the longer term to expand our
institutional shareholder base," Barker said in a statement.
    En+ said it may use the shares for strategic activity or it
may undertake a secondary offering of all or part of the shares
some time later. 
    The shares will be bought at $11.57 each "which represents a
significant discount to En+ fundamental valuation", the company
said. 
    It added that it had no intention to cancel the shares, in
order to preserve the ownership structure under the "Barker
Plan", and that there will be no immediate impact on En+'s free
float and no dilution of minority investors' ownership.
    En+ plans to raise up to 110.6 billion roubles ($1.8
billion) from Sberbank  SBER.MM  for the deal, which is expected
to be closed on or around Feb. 12, it said. En+ also reaffirmed
its intention to resume dividend payments this year. 
    ($1 = 62.7200 roubles)

 (Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Vladimir Soldatkin; editing
by Jason Neely)
 ((ekaterina.golubkova@thomsonreuters.com; +7 495 775 1242;))