Board members Sergey Skaterschikov, Alan Kazbekov and Horst Wiesinger resigned in February.
OMZ statements to the press imply that the company is being re-acquired by the Russian government following reform of the Russian nuclear energy industry.
The buyback is led by a group of investors who the company did not identify. “The group of investors is coordinating its activities with the management of the Federal Agency for Nuclear Energy of Russia,” according to a press statement. “The group of investors believes that the recent reform process in the nuclear energy industry in Russia is likely to affect the structure of OMZ and its nuclear equipment division. Such a development could potentially lead to a de-listing of OMZ’s securities on domestic and international exchanges and a reorganization of the company from an open joint stock company into a closed joint stock company. In order to minimize potential loss to minority shareholders in the event of de-listing, the group of investors is planning to make a public offer to the rest of OMZ’s shareholders to purchase the outstanding shares.”
Moscow-based crane builder OMZ Cranes is a subsidiary of the OMZ Group, which reported sales turnover of $524m in 2004. The company is mostly involved in nuclear and mining operations, but also manufactures large custom forgings and castings.
