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OAO Norilsk Nickel's negotiations with United Company Rusal PLC to buy Rusal's 25% stake in Norilsk for $14 billion have collapsed. Norilsk said it will forge ahead with a plan to spend as much as $4.5 billion to buy back shares equivalent to 10% of the company in an effort to boost management's control over the nickel producer.

According to Vladimir Potanin, OAO Norilsk Nickel is close to buying a 25% stake in the company held by UC Rusal, ending Rusal's struggle to merge with the nickel producer. Rusal may be seeking $15 billion for the stake.

Russian potash producers OAO Uralkali and OAO Silvinit will merge into a company with market capitalization of $24 billion and production capacity of 10.6 million metric tons. Article discusses the deal's structuring and capitalization.

OAO Norilsk Nickel offered to pay $12 billion to buy back a 25% stake in the nickel producer held by United Company Rusal PLC, but Rusal rebuffed the proposal calling it a strategic investment.

Buoyed by stronger oil prices, OAO Gazprom Neft's first-quarter profit more than doubled to $727 million from $335 million a year earlier. Profit increased 72% to $7.3 billion from $4.24 billion. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization jumped 66% to $1.59 billion.

UC Rusal has set January 27 as the date for its initial public offering in Hong Kong. Rusal will sell 1.61 billion shares to raise up to US$2.59 billion to pay down some of its $14.9 billion debt.

OAO Norilsk Nickel reports a first-half profit drop of 84% to $419 million from $2.69 billion a year earlier. Revenue fell 51% to $4.08 billion. Operating costs were reduced 27% to $2.74 billion.

Bogged down by lower steel demand, OAO Severstal reports a net loss of $289.53 million, compared with a net profit of $1.5 billion a year ago. Revenue fell to $2.85 billion from $6.36 billion. Article also discusses Severstal' earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization by market, planned dividend payments, production cutbacks, and earnings outlook for the rest of 2009.

Steel producer Evraz Group S.A. reports a first-half net loss of $987 million, compared with a net profit of $1.99 billion a year earlier. Revenue fell 57% to $4.64 billion from $10.72 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization plummeted 87% to $468 million. Article discusses Evraz's share value, negotiations with creditors, and expected earnings for the rest of 2009.

Affected by $4.73 billion in charges, OAO Norilsk Nickel reports a net loss of $449 million for the fiscal year 2008, compared with a net profit of $5.33 billion a year earlier. Revenue dropped 18% to $13.98 billion from last year's $17.12 billion.

Russian steel producer Evraz Group S.A. reports an 11% drop in net profit to $1.87 billion for the fiscal year 2008. Full-year revenue rose 58% to $20.38 billion. First-quarter crude-steel production in 2009 dropped 29% to 3.39 million metric tons.

Steelmaker OAO Severstal reports a 9.9% rise in 2008 net profit to $2.03 billion and an increase in revenue of 44% to $22.39 billion. The company will eliminate between 9,000 and 9,500 jobs in Russia and is considering further layoffs in Europe and the U.S. Article discusses Severstal's planned capital expenditures, dividend payments, and expected earnings in 2009.

Bogged down by a drop in demand and prices, Russian mining company OAO Norilsk Nickel expects revenue to drop by about half to $8 billion in 2009. The company reported revenue of $17.1 billion in 2007, and revenue of $8.3 billion in the first half of 2008. Article discusses Norilsk's expected production and capital expenditures in 2009.

Citing weak nickel prices and the downturn of the global economy, Russian mining company OAO Norilsk Nickel's chief Vladimir Strzhalkovsky states that net profit may drop as much as 75% in 2009. Mr. Strzhalkovsky says Norilsk's copper production in Russia will decrease between 3% to 5% to about 390,000 metric tons, and nickel production will decrease about 1% to about 230,000 tons. Capital expenditures in Russia in 2009 will be cut to $1.3 billion from a previous forecast of $2 billion. Norilsk is also considering the sale of its unit LionOre Mining International Ltd.

Boosted by strong steel prices, OAO Severstal reports that third-quarter net profit more than tripled to $1.31 billion from $378 million, and revenue more than doubled to $7.6 billion from $3.56 billion. Under present economic conditions, steel demand has plummeted prompting Severstal to announce production cutbacks as high as 30% and a possible revision of its full-year earnings forecast for 2008.

In a move to unseat Russian miner OAO Norilsk Nickel's 13-member board of directors, aluminum producer United Co. Rusal has called for an extraordinary shareholder meeting. Rusal claims Norilsk acts in the interest of tycoon Vladimir Potanin's investment firm Interros and not in the interest of all shareholders. In March, Rusal acquired a 25% in Norilsk and has indicated it will pursue a full merger between the companies.

Citing a drop in nickel prices, Russian mining company OAO Norilsk Nickel reports a 33% net profit drop to $2.69 billion for the six months ended June 30, while revenue rose 5.4% to $8.31 billion. Norilsk's shares dropped 14.9% on the Moscow stock exchange to $110.7. The company plans to forge ahead with its $2-billion capital expenditure program for 2008.

Boosted by rising steel prices, Russian steelmaker OAO Severstal reports that net profit for the quarter ended June 30 more than doubled to $1.5 billion while revenue jumped 54% to $6.24 billion. In interview, Severstal's CEO Alexei Mordashov explains the company plans to maintain current capital expenditures of $2.7 billion to $2.9 billion and further develop assets in North America. Mr. Mordashov outlines Severstal's production and expansion targets through 2011.

In a deal worth 1.4 billion pounds sterling, India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp. will buy Russia's Imperial Energy Corp. thus expanding ONGC's access to petroleum supplies. The acquisition has received approval from the Russian government and government-run oil company OAO Rosneft. It is expected that Rosneft will eventually acquire a stake in Imperial.

In a move that points toward closer workings between suppliers and steel manufacturers, steelmaker OAO Severstal will buy coal-mining company PBS Coals Corp. for $1.3 billion including the assumption of $40 million to $50 million in debt. Severstal's new acquisition will provide the company with 40% to 50% of its coal needs for metallurgical production in the U.S.