Norilsk Nickel
In April 1996, Prokhorov was appointed to the Board of Directors of Norilsk Nickel (which then still belonged to the state). In November 1995, Onexim Bank won 38% of Norilsk Nickel in a loans-for-shares auction for US$170.1 million, US$100,000 (or less than 1%) higher than the bid starting price. At the time, Norilsk produced 25% of the world's nickel output.