Share prices of Russian precious metals miner Polymetal and gold producer Polyus surged in London trading on news that the companies’ billionaire owners were considering merging their gold assets to create the world's ninth-biggest gold producer.
Polymetal jumped 5.14 percent on the LSE in London trading as of 11:26 GMT while Polyus Gold gained 2.58 percent.
The merger between Polymetal, included in the prestigious FTSE 100 index, and Polyus Gold, currently a Moscow-listed company with its Global Depositary Receipts trade in London, is expected to help Polyus, partly owned by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov to get a listing in the UK.
Polyus announced plans in early October to register its parent company Polyus Gold Plc in the UK, and launched preparations to list its ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange and be included in the FTSE 100 index.
The company later had to delay its plans after the government's commission on foreign investment headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin failed to approve the company's relocation to the UK.
