(Reuters) – Russian businessman Vladimir Potanin, the largest shareholder at mining giant Nornickel, said on Tuesday that he was ready to discuss a possible merger of Nornickel with aluminium producer Rusal.

The proposal came from the management of Rusal, Potanin said in an interview with RBC TV.

Rusal did not immediately reply to a Reuters’ request for comment.

(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Jason Neely)