Russia’s state-owned power grid MRSK will list some stock in London this week
RUSSIAN power grid company MRSK is scheduled to list its shares in London this week, a move it hopes will boost the liquidity of its stock and enable it to raise funds in the future, a company spokesperson said yesterday.
The technical listing, in which no money is raised, will see MRSK list 25 per cent of its stock as global depositary receipts – the maximum allowed – on Thursday.
Russia owns a more-than 50 per cent controlling stake in MRSK, and state-controlled Gazprom has 10 per cent.
MRSK was he power group worst affected by the government’s U-turn on proposed household electricity tariff rises earlier this year, according to analysts.
The company is a holding group for several local electricity distribution grids.
Its shares are down 47.5 per cent this year, valuing it at around $4bn, while Russia’s RTS Electric Utilities Index is down 29 per cent.
The company was expected to receive more share price support from its recent inclusion in the MSCI Russia Index, which is used by emerging market investors worldwide to track Russian shares.
MRSK chief executive Nikolay Shvets said in October the company was preparing to hold a technical London listing of up to 25 per cent of its shares in December.