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bne December 2020 Companies & Markets I 17
Russia's X5 Group could IPO delivery and e-grocery assets
IntelliNews Pro
Russia's largest food retailer X5 Group could IPO its delivery and e-grocery assets in two-to-three years, Kommersant daily reported on November 26 citing the management of the company.
As reported by bne IntelliNews, X5 had a strong head-start on digital innovation in the Russian retail segment and used its advantage to emerge as the largest e-grocer amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.
The digital overhaul of the company is detailed in an exclusive interview with Vladimir Salakhutdinov, the head of strategy at the company.
X5 is now considering an IPO of its express-delivery aggregator Okolo, Perekrestok Vprok platform, 5Post e-grocery logistics service, the management of the company said at an online conference organised by Aton.
Perekrestok Vprok could be the first asset to go public, with its sales expected to exceed RUB100bn ($1.3bn) in 2021. Apart from IPOs, private placement investment is considered.
All-cash £3bn buyout offer announced to take LSE-listed KAZ Minerals private
Kanat Shaku in Almaty
The two largest shareholders in London-listed Kazakh copper miner KAZ Minerals, chairman Oleg Novachuk and director Vladimir Kim, have announced a £3bn all-cash buyout offer that would take the company private after 15 years on the LSE. The offer is for the 61% of shares in the company they do not already own, KAZ Minerals said on October 28.
The offer is set at £6.40 per share, a 12% premium to October 27's closing price of £5.71 per share.
The management of the retailer is encouraged by the most recent IPO of Ozon e-commerce platform on NASDAQ, boosting its market capitalisation by 40% to over $8bn after the placement.
The main shareholders of X5 Retail Group are CFT Holdings (part of the Alfa Group) with 47.86%, Intertrust Trustees (Axon Trust) with 11,43%, and minority shareholders with stakes of less than 3% account for 40.62%.
Infoline expects the express grocery delivery market in Russia to soar from RUB0.7bn to RUB30bn in 2020. Online sales already accounted for 0.8% of total sales of X5 in 3Q20, with the target of 2% in 2021. Total express delivery and online receipts are forecast to reach RUB60bn ($0.8bn) in 2021.
Analysts surveyed by Kommersant remind that Polish e-grocery player Allegro had a successful IPO this year, valued at the amount of its annual sales and having the shares jump by 60% after the placement. The valuation of Perekrestok Vprok ahead of a possible IPO could thus reach RUB200bn.
New destinations: the company's $900mn purchase of the undeveloped Baimskaya mine in Russia surprised shareholders.
The shares rose by 10% on October 28 to £626 per share after the announcement – the share price in KAZ Minerals has risen 15% in the year to date. Copper prices this year have gained 10% to date thanks to a demand recovery in China.
The buyout will take place via the Nova Resources consortium created by the two shareholders for the purpose. Kim and Novachuk aim to cover the deal via a loan from Russian investment bank VTB, Interfax news agency reported.
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