Nature Energy buys 39% stake in Kazakh miner ERG

Nature Energy Solutions, owned by Kazakh entrepreneur Shakhmurat Mutalip, has acquired a 39.3% stake in Kazakh mining giant Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) from co-founder Patokh Chodiev and the heirs of late shareholder Alexander Machkevitch, the company said on Friday.

Nature Energy bought an 18.6% stake in ERG from Chodiev and a 20.7% stake from the heirs of Machkevitch.

All enterprises in ERG continue to operate as usual after the shareholder changes, the company said.

ERG declined to comment on the value of the deal.

The Financial Times reported in March that Glencore had proposed to support Mutalip’s $1.4 billion bid to buy a 40% stake in ERG.

ERG, a producer of ferroalloys, copper, cobalt, aluminum, iron ore and thermal coal, is 40% owned by the government of Kazakhstan, with 60% owned privately.

(By Angela Christy; Editing by David Goodman)