Page 111 - RusRPTSept21

8.3.3 ECM news
The board of one of four Russian public real estate developers LSR Group approved a buyback of 10.3mn of its locally listed shares, or about 10% of capital, for RUB780 ($10.7) per share, with the buyback period from August 20 until September 20. The purpose of the buyback is to ensure that holders of the local shares have the same rights as the holders of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs). As reported by bne IntelliNews, LSR previously announced a buyback of its GDRs on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). "As a reminder, the latter had an opportunity to sell their GDRs to the company ahead of the termination of the GDR listing during the buyback completed on July 20. The buyback of the GDRs was carried out at a price of $2.11, which corresponds to the price of the new buyback for the local shares," Sberbank CIB commented on August 2. The analysts note that the buyback price implied almost no premium to the closing price of July 29 (RUB779.4 per share). While the news are seen as neutral, Sberbank CIB believes that the new buyback is "a good step by the company aimed at supporting the share price during a period of uncertainty following the cutbacks in the government support of the housing market and completion of the recent tender offer for GDR holders.”
BCS Global Markets upgraded its recommendation on the shares of Russian diamond major Alrosa to Buy due to a continuing improvement of the market outlook and further upside seen in rough diamond prices. As reported by bne IntelliNews, Alrosa posted gains in sales in June on both higher volumes and higher prices, and restarted output at one of its mines, anticipating support from growing prices on an improving market. Analysts at BCS GM remind that Alrosa already hiked its prices by up to 5% by end-June, and expect further price increases at least until the year end, as demand remains solid in key markets such as the US and a potential market deficit looms.
Norilsk Nickel shareholders approved reduction of authorized capital. On 19 August, shareholders of Norilsk Nickel approved a reduction of authorized capital to Rb153.65mn (down 2.9%) by cancelling 4.59mn of repurchased ordinary shares with a par value of Rb1. Of note, in June, the company completed a share buyback, having repurchased 5.38mn ordinary shares. Thus, the remaining repurchased 791,227 shares are expected to be used for the employees incentive purposes.
BCS Global Markets upgraded the recommendation on the shares of Russian e-commerce major Ozon Holdings to Buy from Hold, with a 12-month target price of RUB4,700 ($62) and estimated excess return of 13%.
111 RUSSIA Country Report September 2021 www.intellinews.com