MOSCOW, June 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, today announced its intention to launch a public offering of newly issued preferred shares within Russia and an international private placement of preferred shares, in the form of shares and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), in certain other countries (the 'Offering').

The Offering will comprise a public offering of preferred shares within Russia and a private placement of preferred shares and GDRs among international institutional investors outside the Russian Federation and the United States under Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'Securities Act'), as well as a private placement among qualified institutional buyers in the United States pursuant to the exemption afforded by Rule 144A under the Securities Act.

The Company intends to place up to 55,000,000 preferred shares representing up to 11.67% of the Company's share capital post-Offering. According to the Company's charter, the dividend per each outstanding preferred share is equal to 20% of the consolidated net income of Mechel determined pursuant to U.S. GAAP divided by 138,756,915, a number fixed in the Company's charter that is equal to the current number of authorized preferred shares.

The Offering is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the relevant registrations and approvals by the Federal Financial Markets Service of Russia.

Mechel is one of the leading Russian companies. Its business includes three segments: mining, steel, and power. Mechel unites producers of coal, iron ore concentrate, nickel, steel, rolled products, hardware, heat and electric power. Mechel products are marketed domestically and internationally.

Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of Mechel, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. We do not intend to update these statements. We refer you to the documents Mechel files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form 20-F.