Renova, the holding company for Viktor Vekselberg, on Tuesday gained boardroom control of the Oerlikon high technology group, underlining the Russian oligarch’s increasing presence in Swiss industry.

The change of power, at Oerlikon’s shareholders’ meeting, came amid speculation that Mr Vekselberg, who has invested heavily in Switzerland, intends to forge a Swiss high-tech conglomerate by combining various leading, but relatively small and specialised, engineering companies.