MOSCOW, August 2 - RAPSI, Sergei Feklyunin. The Chelyabinsk Regional Commercial Court has dismissed Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK) shareholder Elena Yegorova's lawsuit disputing the company's planned purchase of a 100 percent stake in Flinders Mines Limited, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) on Thursday.

In late November 2011, MMK offered to purchase 100 percent of Flinders Mines' shares for A$554 million, or for 0.3 Australian dollars per share (approx. $581 million in total). The transaction has already been approved by all regulating authorities.

MMK shareholder Elena Yegorova secured a pre-award relief in court, which banned the company from implementing the March 30 MMK board resolution to proceed with the purchase. Yegorova believes that the transaction infringes her rights as a minority shareholder and may entail certain financial and operational risks which could affect the return on her investments.

In view of all the circumstances, MMK decided to terminate the agreement with Flinders Mines. Throughout the dispute, MMK fully abided by the terms and conditions of the agreement and did its best to remove all the obstacles, the message reads.

On June 29 Australia's Takeover Panel refused to hold hearings into the application of a Flinders Mines minority shareholder to postpone the validity end date of the agreement with MMK from June 30 to July 14.

Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works is one of the worlds largest steel manufacturers and a leading black metallurgy enterprise in Russia.