In 1992, at the age of 27, Prokhorov partnered with Potanin to run
Interros, a holding company that they used in 1995 to effect the purchase of
Norilsk Nickel, one of Russia's largest
nickel and
palladium mining and smelting companies. During the largely un-regulated
privatization of former state-controlled industries after the collapse of the USSR, Prokhorov and Potanin (the latter by then a deputy prime minister who oversaw privatization) were able acquire the shares from the workers of
Norilsk Nickel for a fraction of their estimated market value and seize ownership of the company. When he departed in 2007, Prokhorov's share of the company was worth US$7.5 billion. Prokhorov's first major financial success came at MFK, which became a depository institution for the government. The bank acquired Soviet assets in the amount of US$300 to US$400 million. Prokhorov held the post of chairman of the board from 1992 until 1993. In 1993, Prokhorov became the chairman of the board for Potanin's Onexim Bank, which, in 1993, became the paying agent for Finance Ministry bonds and a servicing bank for the City of Moscow's external economic activities. In May 1994, Onexim Bank focused on large clients in foreign economic activity especially in the sectors of oil and gas, chemical and metallurgical industries. In 1994, Onexim became the depository and paying agent for Russian Treasury obligations, and in 1995, it became the authorized bank for the federal agency dealing with bankrupt enterprises. Banks holding government funds earned handsome fees and paid minimal interest at a time when inflation was in the triple digits. In the 1990s, the Russian government needed loans to operate. Prokhorov partnered with Potanin. Their Onexim bank ran auctions for the government, in which bidders won the right to loan the Russian government money. Onexim and its affiliates were the winning bidders at the Norilsk Nickel and other auctions they conducted. The Russian government secured the loans with blocks of shares of the newly privatized state enterprises. The government never repaid the loans, and, as a result, Onexim received ownership of the collateral, which was the shares in the privatized enterprises. Onexim purchased
Sidanko, which was a part of the Novolipetsk metallurgical industrial complex, and also the Novorossiisk marine shipping company and a large share of the Northwest marine shipping company. 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. Onexim managed the Norilsk Nickel auction, with a reservation price of US$170 million. It arranged three bids from affiliates, all at US$170 or US$170.1 million. Rossiiski Kredit Bank offered US$355 million, more than twice the starting amount. However, Onexim disqualified Rossiiski Kredit's bid on the basis that the bid amount exceeded Rossiiski Kredit's charter capital (the nominal value of its outstanding shares). The auction rules required Onexim to provide any objections in advance of the auction, to give bidders time to cure them. None of the submitted bids even closely approximated the market value of Norilsk Nickel, which had annual profits of around US$400 million.
60 Minutes, the American news program, interviewed Prokhorov. The program alleged that: "Kremlin leaders gave him what amounts to an insiders opportunity to buy one of the state's most valuable assets. It was acquired from the Kremlin in a so-called auction for the measly sum of a few hundred million dollars in a process that even Prokhorov's business partner admits wasn't perfect, and probably not even legal under Western standards. But it was legal in Russia". During the interview, Russian business correspondent
Yulia Latynina stated about the auction of Norilsk Nickel, "Yes, it was rigged. But, it cannot be explained in normal economic terms to an outsider, especially an American. You had robber barons, we have oligarchs." In December 2011, Prokhorov capped a year of higher-profile political activity in Russia with the December declaration that he would run as an independent in the
2012 presidential elections. He took third place in these elections with 7.98% of the vote. In October 2017, Prokhorov and Viktor Vekselberg sold 3% of Rusal for $315 million in an accelerated bookbuilding. The sale of Prokhorov's 0,7% reduced his stake in the company to 6%.
Norilsk Nickel After selling off most of Norilsk's non-mining assets, Prokhorov moved to modernize a highly complex mining operation which required
icebreakers to transport metal over the frozen Arctic region. Prokhorov invested in an innovative
Finnish freighter that did not require icebreakers.
Norilsk Nickel is headquartered in Moscow. Environmental and labor conditions are harsh, and pollution remains a problem; Prokhorov has invested heavily in pollution control. However, despite these efforts, the mining areas continue to suffer from a high level of pollution. He converted Norilsk's gold-mining interests into the US$8.5 billion corporation
Polyus Gold, Russia's largest gold producer. In 2003, he oversaw the acquisition of Stillwater Mining, his first international venture. He resigned as Norilsk CEO in February 2007 and declared his intention to separate his assets from those of long-time partner
Vladimir Potanin. The two engaged in protracted negotiations to separate the conglomerate
Interros, which the duo co-owned since the 1990s, into separate holdings.
ONEXIM Group In May 2007, following the decision to exit
Interros, Prokhorov launched the private investment fund
ONEXIM Group, with assets valued at US$17 billion at the time. As the separation from Interros proceeded, and as other industries caught Prokhorov's attention, the group rapidly changed its investment profile. In April 2008, Prokhorov sold his 25% plus two shares stake in Norilsk Nickel to
United Company RUSAL, another mining conglomerate controlled by his fellow billionaire
Oleg Deripaska, in exchange for some 14% of Rusal stock, about US$5 billion in cash, and additional payment obligations of US$2 billion. The deal has been singled out as a major success for Prokhorov as only three months later, following a dip in oil prices, a disastrous stock market crash halved the value of most Russian companies, including Norilsk. He emerged as one of the very few businessmen to have cashed out in time. However, his wealth has also been affected, as the value of his remaining interests in various companies (including Rusal and Open Investments) declined sharply, and as the remaining payment from Rusal had to be postponed but has since been fully paid. In September 2008, ONEXIM Group acquired 50% of
Renaissance Capital, a major Russian investment bank which has reportedly encountered liquidity problems. ONEXIM purchased a small bank, renaming it
IFC (for the bank which Prokhorov had run in the early 1990s). One of ONEXIM Group's divisions focuses on the development of
nanotechnology investing in high-technology projects such as white LEDs. One of the key areas of development is the production of materials with ultra–tiny structures used in energy generation and medicine. As part of that focus, ONEXIM purchased
Optogan in 2008. In June 2007, the Russian Prime Minister,
Mikhail Fradkov, announced the formation of the Government Council for Nanotechnology, to oversee the development of nanotechnology in the country. Prokhorov was one of 15 individuals appointed to the council, which was to be chaired by then-First Deputy Prime Minister
Sergei Ivanov. In January 2022, ONEXIM Group sold 82.47% of the energy company to a subsidiary of
Rosatom State Corporation. ==International investments and patronage==