oreign investors will have their say in the $60 billion (£30.1 billion) battle for control of Norilsk Nickel today when they vote on who should control the board of the Russian mining company.

In doing so, they will be adding their voices to a potential struggle between some of Moscow’s richest and most powerful men - oligarchs, moreover, who in some cases are known to dislike each other intensely.

Such is the potential for boardroom battles and intrigues that the Kremlin might insist that they cooperate and agree a compromise deal rather than indulge in personal feuds.

RusAl, the aluminium giant, is buying a 25 per cent stake in Norilsk in an attempt to create the world’s fourth-largest diversified mining group. However, Gazmetall, the iron and steel producer, is also eyeing merger opportunities with Norilsk.

RusAl is putting forward its co-owners Oleg Deripaska, Russia’s richest man, and Viktor Vekselberg, another billionaire oligarch, as directors of Norilsk at an extraordinary general meeting in April. It has also proposed Mikhail Prokhorov, the oligarch who is selling his Norilsk stake to RusAl for $15 billion in cash and shares.

In the opposite corner is Vladimir Potanin, who owns 25 per cent of Norilsk, who is trying to block RusAl from taking control of the world’s largest nickel producer. Russian analysts suspect that he might invite Alisher Usmanov, Gazmetall’s owner, to join the board. Mr Usmanov is believed to have bought a 4 per cent stake in Norilsk already.

If all five oligarchs were to be elected, it would create intense political intrigue, even by Russian standards, enough for the Kremlin to pave the way for a three-way merger, which would create a mining company with a market capitalisation estimated at $120 billion. Western institutional investors will get their chance to vote for the proposed board members today.

An integrated company would rival Rio Tinto as the world’s third-largest miner and would create a Russian national champion in the resources sector. The Kremlin has engineered national champions in the oil and gas sectors with Rosneft and Gazprom and is thought to be eager to do the same in mining.

In Russia, corporate battles such as this one for Norilsk are often resolved in favour of the businessman with the best political connections. However, all five oligarchs are all well known to the Kremlin. Mr Deripaska and Mr Potanin are said to be particularly close to President Putin, whose term in office ends this spring.

Source: The Times