You're reading: Ferrexpo says shareholder dispute is ‘without merit’

Ukrainian iron ore producer Ferrexpo said on April 4 a long-running shareholder dispute over its main producing asset was "without merit", a day after a UK court stopped its bid to move the legal battle to Britain from Ukraine.

"The judge has applied a stay of proceedings in the UK while the case continues in Ukraine," the miner said. "The board of directors of Ferrexpo has received legal advice that the Ukrainian proceedings are without merit."

Ferrexpo, majority owned by billionaire and Ukrainian opposition parliamentarian Kostyantin Zhevago, says it owns 98 percent of shares in Ferrexpo Poltava, one of the world’s largest iron ore deposits and its most important asset.

This is disputed by former shareholders led by Russian parliamentarian Alexander Babakov. They say they own a 40 percent stake in the asset and want a 2002 sale deal canceled. They say the deal was conducted in violation of Ukrainian law and have fought it since 2005.

Ferrexpo had filed last year to move the case to Britain from Ukraine, where it says it could face unfair treatment.