Onexim has sold 3.32% stake in UC Rusal for $240 million. A representative of one of the organizers, Renaissance Capital, said about it to Vedomosti. The discount to the closing price on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange amounted to 9%. A representative of the organizer of the second organizer, VTB Capital, did not reply to the questions. A source close to Onexim confirms that the group has sold 3.3% stake in UC Rusal for $240 million. The representative of Onexim is not commenting.

The applications book for UC Rusal papers was opened this morning. Onexim wanted to sell a 2.5% stake for $200 million, at the market price. It was also possible to increase the stake to 3.75%, according to the material sent out to investors. But in the afternoon the price had to be reduced from 4 to 3.7 Hong Kong dollars per share and the deadline for applications was extended by one hour. By the close of the book the number of participants increased. The purchase was confirmed by a pair of large customers, says a source close to one of the participants.

 Onexim planned to sell 5% stake, as sources close to the various shareholders of UC Rusal told Vedomosti. But after reports of a possible SPO of UC Rusal it was decided not to frighten investors, so the proposal was reduced, says a source close to one of the participants.

UC Rusal price since the summer has risen by half due to higher aluminum prices, which since the beginning of 2016 rose by 24% to $1848 per 1 ton on the London Metal Exchange. The interest of investors was also heated by the messages that most of the Onexim package (12%) can be acquired by another major shareholder of UC Rusal, Sual Partners (15,8%) belonging to Viktor Vekselberg and Leonard Blavatnik. Sources of Vedomosti said that the deal could be closed in November, but it was delayed. According to them, the reason among others is the growth of capitalization of the aluminum company and the requirements of the Hong Kong stock exchange regulator. In particular, the regulator could calculate that since Sual Partners buys only 12%, which allows it not to make an offer to other shareholders of UC Rusal, the seller and the buyer may be considered parties acting in concert, and therefore, the offer is still needed.