OAO Polyus Gold, Russia’s largest producer of the metal, plans to merge with a global rival as early as 2011 to become one of the world’s three-biggest miners of the commodity, billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov said.

“We’ll need to be in the world’s top three,” he said in an interview yesterday in Moscow. Polyus will “make a merger with one of the leading gold companies in the world” after it completes plans to gain a primary listing in London, he said, declining to name acquisition candidates.

Russian producers are seeking to extend their reach after gold prices rose 30 percent this year. OAO Polymetal aims to change its domicile to Jersey, U.K., to expand its investors and OAO Severstal’s Nord Gold unit plans a London initial public offering. Polyus has sought a primary listing in London by combining with its Jersey-based unit KazakhGold Group Ltd.

Polymetal, a Russian producer of gold and silver, surged as much as 20 percent in Moscow trading, the most in two years, after Prokhorov’s comments. The company, which also operates in Kazakhstan and plans to expand in countries including Ukraine, advanced 3.1 percent to 641.92 rubles as of 3:04 p.m. in Moscow.

Polyus rose 4 percent to 1,873.5 rubles, the highest since May 2008, valuing the company at 358 billion rubles ($11.5 billion).

Polyus’s market worth will jump 20 percent after it gains a U.K. listing, Prokhorov, 45, told Bloomberg Television.

“We don’t need acquisition cash,” he said. “As soon as we have a London listing, we can merge with any international company because it’s the same as money.”

Merger Blocked

Polyus canceled a planned merger with KazakhGold after failing to resolve a shareholder dispute over the so-called reverse takeover before an Oct. 29 approval deadline. The company said in October it still aimed to complete a deal allowing KazakhGold, listed in London, to take over Polyus, increasing the parent’s access to global investors.

Barrick Gold Corp., Newmont Mining Corp. and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. were the largest gold miners last year, according to London-based researcher GFMS. They are followed by South Africa’s Gold Fields Ltd., U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., Goldcorp Inc. and Kinross Gold Corp. of Canada.

Gold Fields rose 0.1 percent to 124.87 rand in Johannesburg trading, while AngloGold declined 0.2 percent to 344.20 rand.

Gold Reserves

Polyus spent almost a decade amassing the world’s fifth- largest gold reserves. Prokhorov, who controls the Moscow-based company with fellow billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, plans to keep a minority stake. Prokhorov and Kerimov each own 37 percent, according to Polyus.

Gold Fields, the world’s fourth-largest gold producer, is “the most likely candidate” for a merger with Polyus, Mikhail Stiskin, an analyst at Troika Dialog, said in Moscow.

Polyus previously abandoned a proposal to combine with Gold Fields in 2004. The Russian company was then a unit of OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, which bought a 20 percent stake in Gold Fields to expand abroad before selling the holding in 2006.

Sven Lunsche, a spokesman for Johannesburg-based Gold Fields, said he wasn’t aware of any approach.

An international merger “would be complementary as Polyus has a large amount of gold reserves but less international experience and transparency,” said Alexander Pukhaev, an analyst at VTB Capital in Moscow.

Polyus also studied a merger with Kinross “several years ago,” Chief Executive Officer Evgeny Ivanov said in February.

AngloGold, seeking to add 3 million ounces of new projects in the next decade, expects industry consolidation, Chief Executive Officer Mark Cutifani said on Nov. 30. Alan Fine, a spokesman in Johannesburg for AngloGold, declined to comment.

Forbes magazine this year ranked Prokhorov as Russia’s second-richest man with a $13.4 billion fortune.

Bloomberg