Russian tycoon in race for RTB Bor

Russian company SMR, owned by businessman Oleg Deripaska, yesterday submitted a final offer for RTB Bor. The starting price is EUR 340mn, together with a minimum investment of USD 180mn. Apart from SMR, the tender documentation has also been purchased by Zoran Drakulic’s East Point, Briksleg from Austria, Russian Solway, and India’s Vedanta Resources. Russian tycoon in race for RTB Bor SMR Chief Executive Geoffrey Cowley said that the company had offered RTB all the minimum conditions from the tender. He rejected speculation that Deripaska’s meeting with Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica some months ago had at all influenced the bid, saying that during their one-hour meeting, Bor had only been discussed for five minutes. During the prior sale of RTB Bor in March 2007, in a tender that was later declared null and void, the Tender Commission rejected the company’s offer on the grounds that they had not provided the necessary bank guarantee of USD 3mn, and had not been ready to accept the minimum price of USD 266.7mn. Mijat Lakicevic, editor of the Economist magazine, told B92 that SMR was entitled to change its mind. “Maybe they’ve found something else. It’s possible that at the meeting, the Russian company indicated a greater readiness to take part in the tender. Besides, copper prices have risen in the meantime, just as the price of raw materials has risen, which makes Bor seem a more attractive proposition,“ said Lakicevic. He says that the fact that five companies have purchased the tender documentation does not necessarily mean they will take part in the tender. Lakicevic feels that RTB’s sale price will have an impact on the metals market as a whole. “It’s hard to forecast what the price will be, as it depends on developments in the metals market. I still expect the price to be higher than last time,“ he concluded. RTB’s initial tender was declared null and void after the winner, Romanian Kuprom, failed to pay the USD 400mn offered.

Russian tycoon in race for RTB Bor

SMR Chief Executive Geoffrey Cowley said that the company had offered RTB all the minimum conditions from the tender. He rejected speculation that Deripaska’s meeting with Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica some months ago had at all influenced the bid, saying that during their one-hour meeting, Bor had only been discussed for five minutes.

During the prior sale of RTB Bor in March 2007, in a tender that was later declared null and void, the Tender Commission rejected the company’s offer on the grounds that they had not provided the necessary bank guarantee of USD 3mn, and had not been ready to accept the minimum price of USD 266.7mn.

Mijat Lakićević, editor of the Economist magazine, told B92 that SMR was entitled to change its mind. “Maybe they’ve found something else. It’s possible that at the meeting, the Russian company indicated a greater readiness to take part in the tender. Besides, copper prices have risen in the meantime, just as the price of raw materials has risen, which makes Bor seem a more attractive proposition,“ said Lakićević.

He says that the fact that five companies have purchased the tender documentation does not necessarily mean they will take part in the tender. Lakićević feels that RTB’s sale price will have an impact on the metals market as a whole.

“It’s hard to forecast what the price will be, as it depends on developments in the metals market. I still expect the price to be higher than last time,“ he concluded.

RTB’s initial tender was declared null and void after the winner, Romanian Kuprom, failed to pay the USD 400mn offered.