The company must declare a mandatory offer to minorities within 35 days of Wednesday's completion of the takeover under Russian law, Pikhoya said. On the timing of a possible share exchange, "we may be able to do it before the mandatory offer to the Polyus Gold minorities" due by September, he added. A cash buyout at the earlier takeover price of $68.60 a share, which Polyus would be required to offer, may cost the company as much as $1.4 billion, according to UralSib Capital. "The offer price is yet to be approved by the board," Pikhoya said. "We plan to finance it through a sale of treasury stock or borrowing from banks, depending on market conditions." Polyus, which began trading Thursday in London under its new name and the ticker POLG LI, is seeking to gain entry to the benchmark FTSE 100 Index by the end of the year, he said. "Comparing the MCSI Index and FTSE 100 is like comparing the sea and the ocean," Pikhoya said.