To G.M., From Russia With Love
by _Jeffrey Cane_ ( e)
Aug 8 2007
Aluminum tycoon buys a small stake.
( ofiles/128)
Investors, with the exception of Cerberus Capital Management in its
acquisition of Chrysler, have not been showing Detroit much love of
late.
But now a Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, has acquired a stake in
_General Motors_
( y-profiles/128) of less than
5 percent, now worth about $900 million, _according_
( -11dc-82f5-0000779fd2ac.html) to
theFinancial Times and the Russian newspaper Vedomosti.
Deripaska becomes G.M.’s highest profile minority investor since Kirk
Kerkorian owned as much as 10 percent. But while Kerkorian was
outspoken about changes at G.M., like a three-way alliance with
Renault and Nissan, it is unclear what Deripaska, who founded the
aluminum giant Rusal and has close ties to the Kremlin, wants.
Deripaska, 39, has been increasingly interested in the automotive
sector. He is the main shareholder of OAO Gaz, one of Russia’s biggest
automakers and he is trying to acquire a $1.5 billion stake in Magna
International, the Canadian auto-parts supplier.
He is unlikely to pay a visit to G.M.’s top executives anytime soon,
however. His visa to the United States has been revoked amid questions
about past business dealings.
Portfolio.com © 2007 Condé Nast Inc.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
