OREANDA-NEWS. The Board of Directors of MMC Norilsk Nickel (“Norilsk Nickel” or “Company”) at its meeting on May 15, 2007 agreed to form a new company on the basis of Norilsk Nickel’s non-core energy assets. The restructuring will be carried out as a spin-off of these assets, and the shares of the new independent company will be distributed on a proportional basis among shareholders of MMC Norilsk Nickel.

According to the press service of Norilsk Nickel, only non-strategic energy assets, i.e. those not engaged in power supply to the Company’s production facilities in Norilsk, will be subject to spin-off.  The final list of assets to be spun off will be prepared later this year, by August - September.

According to Andrey Klishas, Chairman of the Board of Directors of MMC Norilsk Nickel, “As a result of this spin-off, the largest private energy company in Russia will be created, so the restructuring will increase the shareholder’s value of MMC Norilsk Nickel. And what is more, the spin-off of these non-core assets will allow management to focus on core business”.

Such reorganization is not new to MMC Norilsk Nickel: in 2005 – 2006 the Company’s gold assets were successfully spun-off into Polyus Gold.

In accordance with the spin-off schedule approved by the Board of Directors, if the General Meeting of shareholders of MMC Norilsk Nickel vote for the reorganization in December, the new company may be registered before the end of 2007, and its shares will be listed in the first quarter of 2008.