To operate a successful aluminum maker requires secure access to bauxite, the raw material of alumina; cheap energy, by far the dominant manufacturing cost; and dependable customers. United Co. Rusal appears to have all three in abundance, which explains why it is the world’s largest aluminum producer.

But there’s another critical factor: ample financing. And there, Rusal’s controlling shareholder and CEO, Oleg Deripaska, has been struggling. Once the richest of Russia’s oligarchs, Deripaska ran up massive acquisition-related debts in recent years only to have the economic crisis imperil his financial position. In an effort to lighten its debt load, on January 27, Rusal raised $2.24 billion by floating a 10.6 percent stake in an initial public offering on the hot Hong Kong market.The deal, led by BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse, sold out even before the road show hit London. No less of an investment world luminary than John Paulson of $30 billion New York hedge fund Paulson & Co., famous for shorting the subprime market precrash, spent....

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