EN+ rockets as US plans sanctions lift

Shares in metals firm EN+ soared on Thursday as investors cheered the lifting of sanctions against the firm within 30 days.

The firm floated in November last year but soon bombed as it was caught up in the US’s aggressive measures against tycoon Oleg Deripaska (pictured) — its biggest shareholder — and a host of other targets in April.

Most of the directors resigned and chairman Lord Barker — the former energy minister — has been working on plans to overhaul corporate governance and get sanctions lifted.

Under the deal to protect minority investors, Deripaska’s stake in EN+ falls from almost 70% to 45%, with a further 10% held in a trust — cutting his voting rights to 35%.

Independent directors will fill two-thirds of the board seats at EN+ next year.

Shares in EN+ in Moscow leapt 26% on the news, although the firm has still more than halved in value since the float.

Aluminium giant Rusal, in which EN+ owns a 48% stake, also saw shares soar 20% and pushed the price of the metal to a 16-month low.

Rusal is the world’s largest aluminium producer after China’s Hongqiao.