VTB Group acted as the exclusive financial advisor and financing bank for Nova Resources as part of the recommended offer to acquire KAZ Minerals shares for $3.5 billion. KAZ Minerals is a successful mining company focusing on large scale, low cost, open pit copper mining in Kazakhstan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Nova Resources is a private company owned by a consortium comprised of Oleg Novachuk, Chairman of the Board of Directors at KAZ Minerals, and Vladimir Kim, Non-Executive Director at KAZ Minerals.
In October 2020, Nova Resources announced a recommended cash offer for non-owned KAZ Minerals shares, and on April 9, 2021, the offer was declared wholly unconditional. Following the deal, Nova Resources intends to delist the company from the London and KASE stock exchanges.
VTB Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Nova Resources, while VTB Bank acted as the sole financing bank on the deal, providing $5.7 billion in total (including a backstop facility to refinance KAZ Minerals existing debt).
The deal represents the largest Metals & Mining transaction in Europe and the CIS region in 2021, as well as the second largest acquisition deal of a London Stock Exchange-listed company. Moreover, this is the third public takeover offer for an LSE-listed Metals & Mining company that VTB Capital has advised on as the exclusive consultant and provided financing for over the last 12 months.
Yuri Soloviev, First Deputy President and Chairman of VTB Bank:
VTB Group’s corporate and investment business multi-product team ensures an integrated approach to the execution of landmark transactions, combining strategic consulting, structured products expertise, financing services and a large product offering, which allow our clients to achieve their strategic goals and efficiently develop large-scale projects. Successful execution of a complexly structured cross-border transaction with Nova Resources once again confirms VTB Group’s leading positions among financial groups working with the largest metals and mining companies in the international markets.“
Oleg Novachuk, Chairman of the Board of Nova Resources:
“Vladimir Kim and I are delighted that our cash offer to buy KAZ Minerals shares was declared wholly unconditional. KAZ Minerals has been able to provide an attractive return to shareholders as a public company, however, given the company’s imminent transition to the next phase of large-scale development, including work on the Baimskaya project in Russia, we believe it would be most appropriate to execute this phase as a private company. We would like to thank VTB Group for their support throughout the entire transaction and look forward to further cooperation with the group to achieve the strategic goals and reach the next stages of the company’s development, which we will focus on in the next few years.”