Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation : ENRC Has Shelved Potential Plan to Split Operations - Report
09/23/2012| 11:27am US/Eastern
Recommend:
Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. PLC (ENRC.LN) has shelved a potential plan to split the company's African assets from the rest of the group as a result of market conditions and lower production volumes, the Sunday Telegraph reports, citing a source.
Although a final decision hasn't been taken by ENRC's board, the paper reports that advisers indicated efforts to split the company's Kazakh assets from its African assets wouldn't get off the ground.
The FTSE 100 company's share price has fallen 46% in the past six months, and it was forced to cut its interim dividend on the back of lower production volumes and price weakness in its key commodities, the newspaper said.
"There is no way you can do that transaction at the moment," one source tells the newspaper.
"We're keeping it alive, as it's worth examining, but we're a long way away from executing it," the source adds, saying the final decision rested with ENRC's chairman Mehmet Dalman who had initiated a review of the company's assets with a view to maximizing value for shareholders.
The paper also reports that ENRC is close to reaching a settlement with the Serious Fraud Office over its Kazakh operations. It is understood to have verbally presented the findings of its investigation--carried out by law firm Dechert LLP--to the SFO, with a formal report to be provided shortly.
ENRC anticipates a preliminary report on separate fraud allegations around its African operations will be complete by early next month, the newspaper reports, without citing sources.
Officials for ENRC and the SFO declined to comment, the newspapers said.
ENRC wasn't immediately available to comment when contacted by Dow Jones Newswires.
Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
Recommend :
