RUSAL, SUAL, and Glencore have recently announced that they have successfully merged their assets to become the world’s largest aluminum producer. United Company RUSAL now comprises four bauxite-producing enterprises, 10 alumina-making plants and 14 aluminum-producing ones as well as 3 foil-rolling companies. The new business’s assets are based in 17 countries of the world and on five continents. Its annual turnover is estimated to come to $12 billion, with over 100,000 employees working on bringing the company to prosperity. United Company RUSAL’s production output is expected to reach 4 million tons of aluminum and 11 million tons of alumina a year; the enterprise also possesses large bauxite deposits and access to energy resources.

Former Chairman of SUAL Viktor Vekselberg was appointed Chairman of United Company RUSAL; former RUSAL CEO Alexander Bulygin was appointed CEO of the new company. The new Board of Directors now includes Oleg Deripaska (Chairman of Basic Element), Viktor Vekselberg (Chairman of RENOVA Group), Len Blavatnik (Chairman of Access Industries), Ivan Glasenberg (CEO Glencore), Alexander Bulygin (CEO United Company RUSAL), Andrew Michelmore (CEO En+), Vladimir Titkov (CEO En+ Service), Dmitriy Afanasiev of Egorov, Puginskiy, Afanasiev and Partners (a law firm), and two independent directors: Nigel Kenny and Philip Lader. Another independent director is to be appointed by July 1, 2007.

The Board of Directors will supervise nine committees responsible for supporting the vital business directions of United Company RUSAL: the environmental committee, the labor safety committee, the industrial safety committee, the audit committee, the appointments committee, the compensation committee, the IPO committee (the company is expected to launch IPO within the next three years), and some others.

‘We keep raising our output and working on our strategic projects while at the same time focusing on further development of corporate management system, which is going to bring United Company RUSAL in compliance with the highest servicing standards in terms of cooperating with clients, business partners, investors, and population of the areas where our offices are based,’ Mr. Vekselberg said.

‘This merger was brought about by the very logic of global aluminum industry development that is characterized by dynamic growth, fierce competition for access to energy and raw resources and markets, and consolidation of major players targeted at enhancing their competitive advantages. We can use the large scale of our business and the joint financial capacity of the company as well as access to hydro-resources and special technologies in order to become an international power-producing and metallurgical enterprise, a leader in many of the new business trends,’ Mr. Bulygin says.