Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) has announced that it is seeking to gain full control of Kazakhstan-based Shubarkol Komir JSC. ENRC already holds a quarter-stake in the thermal coal producer and intends to pick up the remaining 75 per cent by exercising its rights under an existing call option, which will cost the company up to $600m (£385m), plus assumed debts of $50m.
The deal, announced barely a fortnight after ENRC concluded a corporate governance review, has raised a few eyebrows given that the outstanding 2.64m Shubarkol shares are presently held by the three oligarchs who also own 44 per cent of ENRC. Despite the obvious strategic benefits, the proposed Shubarkol deal will do little to dispel the notion that this FTSE100 company is being run principally for the benefit of the oligarchs themselves.
