Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire owner of Chelsea football club, has agreed to buy a 7.3 per cent stake in Norilsk Nickelin a deal to end the company’s long-running shareholder conflict.
While Mr Abramovich’s stake will be dwarfed by the stakes of Norilsk’s two other billionaire shareholders – Vladimir Potanin and Oleg Deripaska – the Chelsea owner will hold the largest voting stake of the three, allowing him to intervene in any disputes at the world’s largest nickel and palladium producer.
The deal appears to signal the end of one of Russia’s most colourful shareholder battles, which has hindered Norilsk’s strategy and corporate governance since 2008, the year Mr Deripaska’s Rusalfirst invested.