Merger Called Off
March 19 2008 - 7:18AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:4549Q
Evraz Group S.A.
19 March 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Evraz Calls Off Yuzhkuzbassugol and Raspadskaya Merger
March 19, 2008 - Evraz Group S.A. (LSE: EVR) ("Evraz" or "the Group") announced
today that it has decided to terminate the merger negotiations between
Yuzhkuzbassugol, a fully owned coal mining subsidiary of Evraz, and Raspadskaya,
Russia's second-largest coking coal producer, originally announced in June 2007.
Evraz believes that the proposed merger is not in the best interests of the
Group's shareholders at this time.
Due to the favourable market conditions and recent developments at the Group,
which include acquisition of selected production assets in Ukraine, we concluded
that further integrating Yuzhkuzbassugol with Evraz's steel operations and with
Ukrainian coke production assets would yield more immediate value and long-term
synergies than combining Yuzhkuzbassugol and Raspadskaya businesses.
"Yuzhkuzbassugol and Raspadskaya will provide more value for our shareholders as
separate businesses," said Alexander Frolov, Evraz's Chairman and CEO. "
Yuzhkuzbassugol has already become an important part of our vertically
integrated business model. We at Evraz are committed to grow both parts of
Yuzhkuzbassugol businesses - metallurgical coal and steam coal mines,
capitalising on the significant potential of the company's existing mines, as
well as the new deposits. It is equally important for us that Raspadskaya will
remain Evraz's strategic partner and a reliable supplier of coal to the Group's
mills in Russia".
Evraz also announced that Gennady Kozovoy has resigned as Yuzhkuzbassugol's CEO.
Andrey Borschevich will become the new acting CEO of Yuzhkuzbassugol,
effective March 20, 2008. Mr Borschevich previously worked as Chief Production
Officer at Yuzhkuzbassugol and has 25 years of experience in the coal industry.
"We express our sincere gratitude to Gennady Kozovoy for his contributions to
Yuzhkuzbassugol," said Frolov. "In particular, we would like to thank Gennady
for implementing strict occupational health and safety standards at our coal
mines."
###
For further information:
Evraz Group
Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations
Irina Kibina
Tel: +7 495 232 1370
IR@evraz.com
Evraz Group S.A. is one of the largest vertically-integrated steel and mining
businesses. In 2007, Evraz Group produced 16.3 million tonnes of crude steel.
Evraz Group's principal assets include three of the leading steel plants in
Russia: Nizhny Tagil (NTMK) in the Urals region and West Siberian (Zapsib) and
Novokuznetsk (NKMK) in Siberia, as well as Palini e Bertoli in Italy, Evraz
Vitkovice Steel in the Czech Republic, Evraz Oregon Steel Mills and Claymont
Steel in the USA. Its fast-growing mining businesses comprise Evrazruda, the
Kachkanarsky (KGOK) and Vysokogorsky (VGOK) iron ore mining complexes,
Yuzhkuzbassugol company and an equity interest in the Raspadskaya coal company.
The mining assets enable Evraz Group to be a vertically-integrated steel
producer. Evraz Group also owns and operates the Nakhodka commercial sea port,
in the Far East of Russia. Evraz vanadium operations comprise Strategic Minerals
Corporation, USA, and Highveld Steel and Vanadium Corporation, South Africa. For
further information visit www.evraz.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
MERSFIFFUSASEFD
Evraz (LSE:EVR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Evraz (LSE:EVR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024