May 16, 2008

Mr Potanin and Mr Prokhorov not to liquidate KM-Invest

Reuters reported that Mr Vladimir Potanin and Mr Mikhail Prokhorov agreed last week not to liquidate the KM-Invest firm managing their joint assets.

KM-Invest gave no details of the agreement, adding that the company's shareholders also agreed on a unified approach on voting with packages of Polyus Gold and Norilsk Nickel shares at emergency shareholders' meetings.

Mr Potanin and Mr Prokhorov had been in a complex process of dividing their jointly owned assets and their decision not to liquidate the asset management firm may indicate they have reached some kind of agreement.

A Russian arbitration court earlier blocked the sale of the assets managed by KM-Invest, including 2% in metals giant Norilsk Nickel and 7.4% in the country's top gold producer Polyus Gold, at Mr Prokhorov's request.