Vladimir Potanin
Russian billionaire tycoon Vladimir Potanin announced on Thursday that he is not seeking to purchase a controlling stake in Russian nickel giant Norilsk Nickel.
Potanin currently controls an approximate 30 percent stake in Norilsk, but said that it would not be to the company’s advantage if a single shareholder controlled the company, FoxBusiness.com reports.
“If one of the shareholders gets a controlling stake, it would be logical to de-list the company, but that would be the worst possible scenario,” Potanin said, according to FoxBusiness.com.
Vladimir Potanin has served in the positions of president and chairman of the board of directors at his private conglomerate Interros, which controls the 30 percent stake in Norilsk. Interros was co-founded in the early 1990s by Potanin and Mikhail Prokhorov. Prokhorov, however, left Interros in 2007, leaving Potanin as the company’s primary owner.
In addition to activities at Interros, Potanin also serves in the leadership of the National Council on Corporate Governance, whose mission is to improve legislative regulations in Russia and to promote ethical standards of corporate governance in the operations of Russian companies.