Metalloinvest, the iron ore and steel group owned by Alisher Usmanov, the Russian billionaire, is planning to float up to 25 per cent of the company in Moscow and London in an initial public offering this autumn, two people familiar with the situation said.

The news came as another sign that Russian companies are planning to return to the market after a slump in offerings in the first four months of this year as a result of the global credit crisis.