Page 13 - RusRPTDec19

2.7 ​ ​Insiders snapping up Gazprom shares
Russian natural gas giant ​Gazprom​ moved to sell 3.59% of its quasi-treasury shares on Moscow Exchange on November 21​, ​following up on the surprise SPO of 2.93% in July​. The shares of Gazprom jumped by 2.5% on the opening on November 21, with the market value of 3.59% stake at about RUB248bn ($4bn).
As reported by ​bne IntelliNews​, in July Gazprom ​sold a quasi-treasury stake of 2.93%​ in a surprise SPO for RUB139bn, cashing in on the recent rally of its shares and record-high capitalisation.
In June Gazprom’s shares soared after the management revised up the company's dividend strategy, bolstered by rumours of a reshuffle of incumbent Kremlin managers that did not materialise. The capitalisation of Gazprom as of November 21 exceeded RUB6 trillion.
Almost half of the offer went to ​one unnamed investor​, and unconfirmed reports claimed that the structures of ​stoligarch​ Arcady Rotenberg bought out the shares.
Rotenberg is one of the largest recipients of state construction and infrastructure orders, but the governance of large state procurements has been changing recently, with ​Gazprom consolidating large contractors​.
Analysts surveyed by ​Vedomosti ​previously believed that the SPO of the remaining quasi-treasury shares will also be offered to a narrow pool of investors. Despite the overhang risks usually associated with sales of additional shares, the market could again react positively to the SPO news and expect Gazprom to please new investors, possibly through even more dividends hikes.
"Traders and other market participants believed that an exclusive group of investors intending to buy out the [quasi-treasury] stake has some exclusive information [on Gazprom] and intends to monetise it. This is why the market switched to buy," an unnamed trader told ​Vedomosti b​ ack in July.
"None of the sane investors or investor groups would buy such a large stake without a clear perspective of re-selling it with a profit in the future," another source said.
2.8 ​Russian business and consumer confidence
Business Confidence in Russia decreased to -5 Index Points in November from -3 Index Points in October of 2019.
Business confidence has been slipping in recent months, but this partly due to a seasonal trend where confidence always declines as winter sets in.
13​ RUSSIA Country Report​ December 2019 ​ ​www.intellinews.com