Page 108 - RusRPTNov23

It is expected that the start of trading in shares under the ticker ASTR will begin on October 13 after the announcement of the IPO price and the final inclusion of shares in the second quotation list of securities admitted to trading on the Moscow Exchange. The company announced its intention to hold an IPO in early October.
One of the systemically important Russian banks SovComBank is preparing an initial public offering (IPO) in December 2023 or January 2024 on Moscow Exchange, RBC business portal reported citing unnamed sources. This would be the first IPO of a sanctioned Russian financial institution. SovComBank was one of the first banks to come under full blocking sanctions upon Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. But the bank was also the first to recently extract sanctioned assets under a regulatory loophole provided by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR). Sources told RBC that SovComBank’s IPO could become the largest on the Russian market since the invasion and expect the bank to be valued at above capital similar to multipliers of state-controlled Sberbank and private Tinkoff.
Russian Kaluga-based distillery Kristall is going to hold an initial public offering (IPO) on the Moscow Exchange in December 2023, Vedomosti daily reports citing an investor presentation of the company's owner Pavel Pobedkin.
As followed by bne IntelliNews, the Moscow Exchange prepares to see dozens of small initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2024.
In the high interest rate environment on debt investors expect discounts on equity placements, and large players could be reluctant to provide those, while small names looking for equity would. While in 2022, the Moscow Exchange had only one IPO, in 2023 five IPOs and one SPO have already been held.
Kristall plans to raise RUB1bn-RUB1.5bn in the IPO, with a share of the free float not exceeding 15%. According to Pobedkin, the company intends to start paying dividends in 2025. They will amount to at least 80% of net profit.
The company plans to take a share of 18% in the Russian liqueur and vodka market by 2026, according to the presentation cited by Vedomosti. Kristall is already among the top 10 vodka producers in 2023.
Previously in March 2023 Kristall tapped the debt market for the first time, placing three-year RUB300mn bonds on the Moscow Exchange with a quarterly coupon and yield to maturity of 14.21%. The company's credit rating from Expert RA was ruB+ (low level of creditworthiness and financial reliability).
Kristall's portfolio includes the flagship brands Solovushka, Bionica,
108 RUSSIA Country Report November 2023 www.intellinews.com