Severstal to Acquire TAS’s Stake in Dniprometiz

Germany-basedSeverstal-Metiz filed a request to a German regulatory authority to increase its stake in Dniprometiz (DMPO: BUY) from 60% to 95%. In February 2006, Severstal-Metiz acquired 60% in Dniprometiz for USD 33 mln (this implies USD 55 mln for 100%) with an option to buy another 35% in February 2008. Eugene Cherviachenko: At Dniprometiz’s EGM on January 10, 2008, shareholders excluded TEKO-Dniprometiz, related to the Ukraine-based TAS group, from the company’s supervisory board. We believe this is a hint that Severstal-Metiz could buy out TEKO-Dniprometiz’s 35% stake in Dniprometiz (see our March 2007 report) and increase its stake to 95%.