An elaborate merger plan put forward this week by Vladimir Potanin and Oleg Deripaska, the two largest owners of Norilsk Nickel, the world's biggest nickel miner, looked to be a preemptive move to head off alternative proposals that could diminish their clout, analysts said.

Mr Potanin and Mr Deripaska were due to discuss the merger plans with Igor Sechin, Russia's deputy prime minister, on the 20 Jan, people close to the tycoons said. The powwow came just one week after a Kremlin meeting with Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian president, to discuss ways to combat the crisis that threatens to envelop the sector as it grapples with huge debts and plummeting revenues.

Mr Potanin and Mr Deripaska have both been hit hard in the crisis, and have had to hand over40 per cent of Norilsk's shares as collateral to state banks.