Deripaska empire faces Czech tycoon’s challenge
A Czech billionaire is hoping to muscle in on the business empire of Oleg Deripaska, the Russian oligarch whose finances are increasingly open to question after the failure of his British van-making operation LDV.
Petr Kellner, a former photocopier salesman who made his fortune in the Czech privatisation scramble, is teaming up with Italian insurance giant Generali to table a bid to buy out Deripaska's control of Russian insurer Ingosstrakh.
The oligarch, who has been named as a financial backer of the Canadian-led takeover of the European end of General Motors including Vauxhall, has been offered £590 million for his 60% stake in Ingosstrakh. Kellner's PPF and Generali together own the other 40% of Ingosstrakh.
Deripaska's business empire is reckoned to have eaten up much of his reputed $28 billion (£17.1 billion) fortune during the credit crunch. As well as closing LDV with the loss of about 850 British jobs, workers at his Siberian paper mills have gone on hunger strike over unpaid wages, the latest in a series of Russian industrial disputes.
Deripaska came to prominence in the UK last year when he was outed as an associate of the Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.
His flagship assets are his metals business Rusal, GAZ, his Russian automotive operation, and interests held through his Basic Element investment vehicle.
