TIDMEVR
RNS Number : 9084N
Evraz Plc
04 October 2012
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN
PART, IN OR INTO ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A
VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION
Acquisition of an indirect controlling interest in OJSC
Raspadskaya by EVRAZ plc
4 October 2012 - EVRAZ plc (LSE: EVR) ("EVRAZ") announces that
it has agreed the terms of the acquisition of an indirect
controlling interest in OJSC Raspadskaya and its subsidiaries
("Raspadskaya") (the "Acquisition").
-- EVRAZ has agreed to purchase a further 50% interest in Corber
Enterprises Limited ("Corber") from Adroliv Investments Limited, a
company owned by the sellers (the "Sellers"), which holds an 82%
interest in Raspadskaya. EVRAZ has an existing holding of 50% of
Corber and, following completion of the Acquisition, will hold an
indirect interest of 82% in Raspadskaya's shares. The remaining 18%
of Raspadskaya's shares will remain listed on the Russian Stock
Exchange, MICEX-RTS.
-- As consideration for the Acquisition, EVRAZ will (i) issue
132.7 million new shares representing 9.9% of the existing issued
share capital of EVRAZ (the "New EVRAZ Shares"); (ii) issue 33.9
million new warrants to subscribe for 33.9 million new shares
representing 2.53% of the existing issued share capital of EVRAZ
(the " Warrants"), and (iii) pay an amount, in cash, of US$1,949.80
for each of 103,600 ordinary Corber shares, payable in four equal
instalments in Q1, Q2, Q3 2013 and Q1 2014. The Warrants may be
exercised at any time between 12 months and 15 months after
completion of the Acquisition and the Warrants contain customary
provisions relating to adjustments. Upon exercise of the Warrants,
it is expected that the Sellers would own 11.06% of EVRAZ.
-- Completion of the Acquisition is expected to occur in Q4 2012
subject to receipt of customary regulatory approvals and
satisfaction or waiver of other conditions.
-- Raspadskaya is one of Russia's largest producers of coking
coal based on volume of production in 2011 and is located in the
Kemerovo region of the Russian Federation. Raspadskaya is already a
key supplier of coal to EVRAZ and EVRAZ is Raspadskaya's largest
customer.
-- According to the international consulting firm IMC, as of 31
December 2011, the total proved and probable coal reserves of
Yuzhkuzbassugol, EVRAZ's producer of coking coal, were estimated to
be approximately 632 million tonnes. As of 31 December 2011,
according to IMC, Raspadskaya had proved and probable coal reserves
of 1,314 million tonnes.
-- EVRAZ's net leverage ratio as at 30 June 2012 was 2.48x.
Corber's net debt at 30 June 2012 was US$330 million and the pro
forma net leverage of the combined entity as at this date would
have been 2.39x.
Alexander Frolov, CEO, EVRAZ plc, said,
"The acquisition will increase EVRAZ's coking coal
self-coverage, which is consistent with EVRAZ's stated strategy of
growth in the raw materials for steelmaking.
Raspadskaya is already a key supplier of coal to EVRAZ and EVRAZ
is Raspadskaya's largest customer. Through holding an equity
interest in Raspadskaya since 10 March 2004 and having directors on
the Board of OJSC Raspadskaya, EVRAZ has a clear understanding of
the strengths and potential of Raspadskaya's business and is best
positioned to benefit from acquiring an indirect controlling
interest in Raspadskaya.
Following completion of this acquisition EVRAZ will become the
largest producer of coking coal in Russia. We believe that the
acquisition of Raspadskaya will generate substantial operational
synergies to EVRAZ, including the optimal use of different coal
grades in the combined portfolio.
We value the strong expertise of the management team and we are
happy that Mr Kozovoy, who has been the chief executive officer of
Raspadskaya since December 1993, and has successfully helped to
transform it into one of the largest coal mining companies in
Russia, will stay in this position until at least the end of
2013."
Summary of the Conditions to the Acquisition
The Acquisition is subject to certain conditions and other
terms, which are summarised below, and completion will only occur
if, among other things, the following events occur on or before 15
January 2013 or such later date as EVRAZ and Raspadskaya agree:
a) EVRAZ having received pre-transfer merger clearance from the
Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service in connection with the
Acquisition;
b) the share prices of EVRAZ or Raspadskaya not falling below certain pre-agreed levels; and
c) satisfaction or waiver of certain other conditions,
including, without limitation, the receipt of authorisations,
orders, confirmations, consents, clearances, permissions or
approvals required under any law of any jurisdiction either without
conditions or subject to conditions which are acceptable to EVRAZ
(acting reasonably).
On the basis that all the conditions as outlined above are
satisfied or waived, the Acquisition is expected to complete in Q4
2012.
Settlement, Listing and Dealings of the New EVRAZ Shares
The New EVRAZ Shares issued to the Sellers pursuant to the
Acquisition will rank pari passu in all respects with the EVRAZ
shares in existence at the date of this announcement.
Applications will be made:
-- to the UKLA for the New EVRAZ Shares to be admitted to listing on the Official List; and
-- to the London Stock Exchange for the New EVRAZ Shares to be
admitted to trading on the Main Market.
A conference call for investors and analysts to discuss the
Acquisition hosted by Alexander Frolov, CEO, andGiacomo Baizini,
CFO, will commence on Thursday, 4 October 2012 at:
1:30 pm (London Time)
4:30 pm (Moscow Time)
8:30 am (New York Time)
Conference call dial-in details:
0 800 694 0257 in the UK (toll-free)
8 10 800 2097 2044 in Russia (toll-free)
1 866 966 9439 in the USA (toll-free)
+44 (0) 1452 555 566 International Dial-in
Conference ID 36652333
To avoid any technical inconveniences it is recommended that
participants dial in 10 minutes before the event start time.
The conference call playback will be available until 5 October
2012.
Participants requesting the playback should dial:
0 8717 000 145 in the UK
1 866 247 4222 in the US
+44 (0) 1452 550000 International Dial-in
and enter the Code 36652333 followed by the # sign.
The presentation will be available on the Company's website
http://www.evraz.com/investor/presentations shortly before the
call.
For further information:
Investor Relations:
London: +44 207 832 8990 Moscow: +7 495 232 1370
ir@evraz.com
Media Relations:
Oleg Kuzmin
VP, Corporate Communications
London: +44 207 832 8998 Moscow: +7 495 937 6871
media@evraz.com
Information on EVRAZ
EVRAZ is a vertically integrated steel, mining and vanadium
business with operations in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, USA,
Canada, Czech Republic, Italy and South Africa. EVRAZ is among the
top 20 largest steel producers in the world based on crude steel
production of 16.8 million tonnes in 2011. In 2011 EVRAZ sold 15.5
million tonnes of steel products. A significant portion of the
Group's internal consumption of iron ore and coking coal is covered
by its mining operations. As at 31 December 2011, according to IMC,
EVRAZ had total proved and probable reserves of approximately 632
million tonnes of coal. During 2011, EVRAZ extracted 6.3 million
tonnes of raw coking coal, and 3.0 million tonnes of raw steam
coal, and produced 6.5 million tonnes of coking coal concentrate
and 0.9 million tonnes of steam coal concentrate. EVRAZ's total
assets stood at US$16,975 million as at 31 December 2011 and at
US$17,432 million as at 30 June 2012.The EBITDA for 2011 was
US$2,898 million and the H1 2012 EBITDA was US$1,175 million.
Information on Raspadskaya
Raspadskaya is one of Russia's largest producers of coking coal
based on volume of production in 2011. Raspadskaya conducts its
business through OJSC Raspadskaya and 11 of its key subsidiaries
located in the Kemerovo region of the Russian Federation.
Raspadskaya extracted 6.3 million tonnes of raw coking coal and
produced 3.8 million tonnes of coking coal concentrate in 2011. As
of 31 December 2011, Raspadskaya had proved and probable coking
coal reserves of 1,314 million tonnes, coking coal measured
resources of 1,809 million tonnes and coking coal inferred
resources of 262 million tonnes, according to IMC.
Corber's total assets stood at US$2,150 million as at 31
December 2011 and at US$2,078 million as at 30 June 2012. The 2011
Adjusted EBITDA for 2011 was US$318 million and the H1 2012
Adjusted EBITDA was US$99 million.
Raspadskaya's principal coal mining and coal processing
operations consist of three underground mines, one open-pit mine
and the Raspadskaya coal concentrate preparation plant.
Raspadskaya's ability to produce large volumes of coking coal
concentrate has resulted in many large Russian steel companies,
such as EVRAZ, MMK, NLMK and several other Russian metallurgical
and coke producing companies such as Koks, Mechel and Urals Steel,
relying on Raspadskaya to supply their coke producing plants with a
large proportion of the coal products that are required to operate
their businesses. Raspadskaya has its own coal and coal concentrate
transportation network which connects Raspadskaya's production
complex to the federal railway network at the Mezhdurechensk
railway station.
The senior management of Raspadskaya includes (i) Gennady
Kozovoy, the current chief executive officer of Raspadskaya Coal
Company who assumed this position in April 2003 and previously
served as Raspadskaya's general director from December 1993 till
June 2003, and (ii) Alexander Vagin, the chairman of Raspadskaya's
board of directors who has served in such capacity since December
1993 and assumed the role of first deputy CEO of Raspadskaya Coal
Company in March 2004. Whereas Mr Kozovoy following completion of
the Acquisition will remain as Raspadskaya's CEO until at least the
end of 2013, Mr Vagin will resign as Chairman of Raspadskaya and
leave its board of directors but remain with Raspadskaya as deputy
CEO.
This announcement is not intended to and does not constitute or
form part of, and should not be construed as, any offer, invitation
or recommendation to purchase, sell or subscribe for any securities
in any jurisdiction and neither the issue of the information nor
anything contained herein shall form the basis of or be relied upon
in connection with, or act as an inducement to enter into, any
investment activity. This announcement does not purport to contain
all of the information that may be required to evaluate any
investment in EVRAZ, Raspadskaya or any of their securities and
should not be relied upon to form the basis of, or be relied on in
connection with, any contract or commitment or investment decision
whatsoever. This announcement is intended to present background
information on EVRAZ, Raspadskaya, their business and the
industries in which they operate and is not intended to provide
complete disclosure upon which an investment decision in respect
of, or other response to the Acquisition, could be made.
This announcement does not constitute a prospectus or prospectus
equivalent document.
The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in
jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by
the laws of those jurisdictions, and therefore persons into whose
possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about
and observe any such restrictions. Failure to comply with any such
restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of
any such jurisdiction.
This announcement has been prepared for the purposes of
complying with English law and the information disclosed may not be
the same as that which would have been disclosed if this
announcement had been prepared in accordance with the laws and
regulations of any jurisdiction outside of England.
No regulatory clearance in respect of the New EVRAZ Shares has
been, or will be, applied for in any jurisdiction other than the
UK.
The New EVRAZ Shares may not be offered, sold, resold, delivered
or distributed, directly or indirectly, in, into or from Australia,
Canada or Japan or to, or for the account or benefit of, any
resident of Australia, Canada or Japan absent an exemption from
registration or an exemption under relevant securities law.
Notice to US investors
This announcement is not an offer of securities for sale, offer
to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to purchase the shares of
EVRAZ in the United States.
The New EVRAZ Shares, which will be issued in connection with
the Acquisition, have not been, and will not be, registered under
the US Securities Act or under the securities law of any state or
other jurisdiction of the United States. The New EVRAZ Shares may
not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration
under the US Securities Act or pursuant to an exemption from, or in
a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the
US Securities Act.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements
with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and
business of EVRAZ and Raspadskaya and certain plans and objectives
of EVRAZ with respect thereto. These forward-looking statements can
be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to
historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements often use
words such as "anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan",
"goal", "believe", "hope", "aims", "continue", "will", "may",
"should", "would", "could", or other words of similar meaning.
These statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by
EVRAZ and/or Raspadskaya in light of their experience and their
perception of historical trends, current conditions, future
developments and other factors they believe appropriate. By their
nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty,
because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will
occur in the future and the factors described in the context of
such forward-looking statements in this document could cause actual
results and developments to differ materially from those expressed
in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although it is
believed that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking
statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such
expectations will prove to have been correct and you are therefore
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements which speak only as at the date of this document.
Neither EVRAZ nor Raspadskaya assumes any obligation to update or
correct the information contained in this document (whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise), except as
required by applicable law.
There are several factors which could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied in
forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements are changes in the global, political,
economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory forces,
future exchange and interest rates, changes in tax rates and future
business combinations or dispositions.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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