UPDATE 2-Norilsk Nickel board clears sale of energy assets

(Adds analysts' comments in paragraphs 12-16, byline)

By Aleksandras Budrys

MOSCOW, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Russian miner Norilsk Nickel (GMKN.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) decided on Monday to sell $7 billion of energy assets via separate tenders, after a row between its top owners blocked what it had described as a more appealing spin-off.

The stock of Norilsk, the world's largest nickel and palladium producer, jumped more than 7 percent as the company said it would also buy back some shares. The sales would total about one-seventh of Norilsk's total market value.

Norilsk Chief Executive Denis Morozov told a news conference the firm's board had approved the start of the disposals programme with the sale of a $106 million stake in power generator OGK-5 (OGKE.MM: Quote, Profile, Research).

"As to the other assets, the decisions would be taken separately," he said, adding that the board will have unanimously to clear sales representing 25 to 50 percent of Norilsk's total assets.

A majority of votes will be needed for sales representing 2 to 25 percent of total assets value.

Norilsk and its owners have spent billions of dollars on power assets in the past years, banking on the gradually liberalising electricity market, with the biggest purchase being a $4.6 billion acquisition of power generator OGK-3 (OGKC.MM: Quote, Profile, Research).

But this strategy ran into trouble after top owners Vladimir Potanin and Mikhail Prokhorov failed to find a compromise over how to split their assets in a corporate divorce which proved to be more complicated than they had thought.