Russian aluminum king Oleg Deripaska has acquired approximately five percent of shares in American General Motors (GM), reported the Russian business daily Vedomosti, citing sources from the holding company Basic Element that manages the tycoon’s assets.
According to the source referenced by the newspaper, Deripaska purchased the five percent stake in GM at the end of last year. However, another source claims that the stake is less than five percent, emphasizing that Deripaska does not intend to increase it. The same source denied speculation that Deripaska purchased his shares from the Tracinda company of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, which sold a ten percent stake in GM at the end of last year. The public relations department of the Basic Element holding company declined to comment on the report. In addition to controlling UC Russian Aluminum, the largest aluminum producer in the world, Deripaska is the owner of the OAO Gaz Group, the second largest Russian automobile manufacturer by production. GM operates in Russia through a joint venture with OAO AvtoVAZ, the largest local automobile manufacturer, and at the Avtotor factory in Kaliningrad. It is currently building a new factory in Saint Petersburg, where assembly is expected to begin in November 2008. (H)
