E&Y smiling as Kazakh copper group eyes listing
Ernst & Young team provides lucrative due diligence work as Kazakhstan copper giant Kazakhmys eyes £2bn listing
Two hundred accountants from Big Four firm Ernst & Young have been
frenetically assessing the balance sheet and assets of Kazakhmys, the Kazakhstan
copper group, as it prepares for a £2bn listing on the London Stock Exchange.
The due diligence work is believed to have reached £20m according to a report
in The Sunday Times. If Kazakhmys lists successfully, it will become
the first company from the former Soviet Union to trade on the LSE boards.
The listing, which would put the Kazakh group on the brink of the FTSE100,
will also make its executives – chairman Vladimir Kim, CEO Yong Keu Cha and
finance director Oleg Novachuk – among the wealthiest individuals in the UK.
Kim’s 45% would be worth about £700m. Keu Cha and Novachuk have 30% and 12%
stakes respectively.
Osprey Oil and Gas FD, James Rutland is also set to benefit. It is reported
that Rutland will be appointed as a non-executive and chair the Kazakhmys audit
committee.