Page 80 - RusRPTDec18

Tomsk Distribution Co RUB 0,4 4 0,017 4,8% 0,017 4,8% Medium pref
Kubanenergo RUB 70,6 346 0,928 1,3% 0,928 1,3% Low
Source: Bloomberg, ATON Research
8.3.4 ECM news
Lukoil bought out and cancelled 100.56mn of treasury shares or 11.82% of the capital, which has pleased investors. After the cancellation of the treasury shares, management’s total ownership in Lukoil increased to 38.78% from 34.2%. The free float of Lukoil increased to 55.8%. BCS reminds that 4.8% of the treasury shares were not cancelled and will be used in the management incentive programme, as announced previously.
Verno Capital and SPRING, two leading fund managers that specialise in the Russian and CIS markets, today announce plans to merge their public asset management businesses to create a $500mn investment management firm focused on Russia and the CIS region. The terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. The merged company, Spring Capital, will focus on managing international institutional funds into the public equity markets of the region. The merger will enhance the scale and resources of the combined business, increase operational efficiencies and allow the joint investment team to focus on its core mission of effectively investing on behalf of clients. The private equity businesses of both firms will remain separate. The two funds are run by investment legends Roland Nash and David Herne respectively.
Russian fertiliser majors Uralchem and Uralkali are toying with the idea of listing on foreign exchanges in the future to lower the debt of the companies, Tass and Vedomosti daily said on October 3 citing the main shareholder Dmitri Mazepin. In December 2017 Uralkali delisted from Moscow Exchange, and plans to complete the squeeze out and re-balance the shareholder structure by June-July 2019. Before Moscow the company delisted in London in 2015. The massive buyout program that led up to the delisting had undermined Uralkali's performance according to analysts and led to downgrades by Fitch Ratings and Moody's Investors Service, as well as inflating the quasi-treasury stock to 54.77% creating governance risks. A 20% stake in Uralkali belongs to Uralchem fertiliser major controlled by Dmitri Mazepin, and another 20% to Belarusian businessman Dmitri Lobyak, who reportedly acquired it from Oneksim Group of tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov. At the same time Mazepin told the press that Uralkali will reorient its supplies from largest markets such as India and China due to low prices, and will focus on African market that proposes perspective for growth and higher prices. Analysts surveyed by Vedomosti agree that China and India is the "buyers market" for fertilisers and prices are pressured downwards, but note that African expansion strategy is carrying high risk
80 RUSSIA Country Report December 2018 www.intellinews.com