US firm BlackRock reduces stake in miner Polymetal International (updated)

Sino ICT Holdings

01/03/2024 14:58

(Updates with BlackRock comment, detail in paragraph 5)
       MOSCOW, March 1 (Reuters) - U.S. investment firm
BlackRock has reduced its stake in precious metals producer
Polymetal International to 7.45% from 9.91%, the gold and silver
miner said on Friday.     
    Polymetal last month said it had agreed to sell its Russian
assets to a Siberian gold miner for about $3.7 billion, a deal
forced at a knock-down price by repercussions from the conflict
in Ukraine.
    BlackRock said the trade was executed on the Astana
International Exchange (AIX) in Kazakhstan which is now the
primary listing for Polymetal International.     
        Polymetal's London-listed shares lost around 70% in a
few days following Moscow's launch of what it calls a "special
military operation" in Ukraine. 
    Polymetal in March 2022 disclosed that the U.S. asset
manager's equity position had doubled between November 2019 and
February 2022. On March 8, 2022, BlackRock's stake dropped back
below the 10% threshold. 
    Trading in London was suspended and Polymetal subsequently
moved its domicile to Kazakhstan from Jersey, delisted from the
London Stock Exchange and relisted in Astana. 
    Polymetal said in January that Russian investment company
ICT Holding had sold its 23.9% stake in the company to a
consortium led by the Omani government.

 (Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova; Writing by Alexander
Marrow; Editing by Jan Harvey and Franklin Paul)
 ((alexander.marrow@thomsonreuters.com;))