Russian aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska claims he wants to head the newly elected board of directors of Norilsk Nickel, causing tensions between Norilsk Nickel and the aluminum giant Rusal, Russian Reuters reported yesterday.

The stockholders of Rusal have recently been eyeing a merger with Norilsk Nickel, or Nornickel, the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium.

Deripaska has a strong presence in both companies: on top of seeking Nornickel leadership, he also happens to be Rusal’s largest shareholder.

During a shareholder meeting on Monday, Rusal snagged three seats on the board of Nornickel and boycotted the election of Vasily Titov to the helm of the board of directors. Rusal representatives refused to participate and threatened to reschedule the meeting unless Deripaska is elected instead, a source told Reuters.

Deripaska recently denied having his sights set on the highest board leadership post, claiming he was satisfied with the president at that time, the government-supported Aleksandr Voloshin.

But Voloshin did not garner enough votes to serve again, which made Deripaska one of two strongest and most influential Nornickel board members.
Rusal is blaming Nornickel’s management, claiming that it manipulated 8.5 of company’s stock and voted against Voloshin.

Nornickel’s position is currently unclear: some view it as Rusal’s cash cow, while others have interest in its long-term growth. In the spring, Deripaska said that his joining the board would give the nickel giant a “shake up.” Rusal is currently $12.9 billion in debt and recently demanded that Nornickel pay 110% of its profit, or $3 billion, on dividends. Nornicklel paid less than half of this amount.

On the heels of the leadership tensions, Nornickel’s shares dipped 3.2% on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) on Tuesday, on investor concerns.

Stay tuned for RUSSIA!'s coverage of this dispute.

Deripaska Wants To Head NN Board [Reuters]