Russia’s Global Ports plans $750m London IPO
Russian freight terminal operator Global Ports is planning to raise up to $750m (£456m) from an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.
Global Ports, the latest in a stream of Russian companies seeking fresh capital from the market, has said it will sell $100m of new shares as well as an unspecified amount of existing shares.
It plans to list about a total 25 per cent stake, which at an estimated company value of $3bn would mean a total $750m would be raised from its flotation.
The company, a subsidiary of infrastructure and transport group N-Trans, will use the proceeds to invest in its ports operation, it said in a statement.
Global Ports could become a third successful IPO from the N-Trans company following the floats of freight operator Globaltrans Investment and road and bridge operator Mostotrest.
Mostotrest raised $388m in Moscow last November, although the shares have since lost ground.
Global Ports said it controls 30 per cent of Russia’s container ports market and boosted revenue by 60.8 per cent to $122.9m in the first quarter of this year.
Russian companies have raised $3.4bn from IPOs in 2011 to date, compared with around $5.5bn during the whole of last year.
But their high valuations have proved beyond the market’s appetite in several cases, with a number of planned IPOs shelved or abandoned in recent months.