Swiss commodity trader Glencore has dropped an idea to convert its stake in Russian aluminum giant UC RUSAL into global depositary receipts (GDRs) of En+ Group because of the new U.S. sanctions, it said in a statement on April 10.
“Glencore has previously signed a non-binding term sheet with En+ regarding swapping its shares in RUSAL for Global Depositary Receipts in En+. Glencore will not proceed with the transaction at this time in light of the designation of RUSAL and EN+ as SDNs (the Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List),” the statement read.
RUSAL’s shares fell by 7.9% on the Moscow Exchange and GDRs of En+ lost about 17% on the London Stock Exchange.
In March En+ said that it expected Glencore to complete the transaction by the end of April. As a result, the stake of En+ in RUSAL was to rise to 56.88% from 48.13%.
Glencore also said that its CEO Ivan Glasenberg had resigned from his position as a member of the board of directors of RUSAL.
On April 6 the U.S. imposed sanctions against a total of 38 Russian tycoons, officials and companies, including Oleg Deripaska. (Prime/Ukrainian metal)