Russian Steelmaker MMK Announces IPO Plans
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One of Russia’s largest steelmakers, Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) plans to float shares in London and Moscow with ABN Amro, Morgan Stanley and Renaissance Capital acting as lead managers, the firm said on Monday, March 26.
MMK has permission to place up to a quarter of its shares abroad. MMK has said it would prefer to place shares on the London Stock Exchange.
“The placement will be carried out on the form of ordinary shares and Global Depositary Receipts offering to international institutional investors outside the Russian Federation and an offering of ordinary shares on the territory of the Russian Federation,†MMK said in a statement that was quoted by Reuters.
The placement will take place after all necessary permits in Russia and Britain are received, it said.
A source close to the deal told Reuters last week that a roadshow for the placement will start two weeks after the announcement about the offering is made.
Shares MMK, which has a small free-float in Russia, closed at 26,011 rubles ($1,000) on Friday.
Popularity: 2% [?]
April 2007.
RUSSIAN INVESTMENTS:
RUSSIAN IPO INVESTOR ALERT
French holders of Russian government bonds remind all investors that the Russian Federation is still in default today (March 2007) on their estimate of some US$ 80 billion owed to them since the Bolshevik, then the Soviet, and now the Russian Federation governments have all unilaterally repudiated Tsarist debt and refused any form of contact or dialogue with their creditors.
They also remind investors that in its Sep. 15th 2006 report entitled “Governance matters: a decade of measuring the quality of governance”, the WORLD BANK rated Russia’s governance comparable to that of Swaziland, Zambia and Kazakhstan. Russia came 151st out of 208 countries in terms of (…) accountability, quality of regulatory bodies, rule of law, (…). In particular, rule of law (i.e. the courts and the quality of contract enforcement) was judged as effective in Russia as it is in Ecuador, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. Nicaragua, East Timor, and China’s ability to control corruption was judged similar to Russia’s.
On April 3rd 2007 Mr. John Thain, the New York Stock Exchange CEO, warned that he was “very concerned about the quality of corporate governance, the transparency of company financials and the protection of minority shareholders. A number of Russian companies raise serious questions around these issues.”
Despite these findings, and despite the main rating agencies’ knowledge that Russia is in default on US$ 80 billion of Tsarist debt, Russia is rated “INVESTMENT GRADE”.
French bondholders intend to pursue their claim until full settlement at present value, by any legal means and in any jurisdiction they deem appropriate.
EVERY POTENTIAL INVESTOR IN RUSSIA MUST BE MADE AWARE OF THESE FACTS.
FRENCH CREDITORS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST ANY FORM OF INVESTMENT IN A COUNTRY WHOSE SOLVENT GOVERNMENT HAS SYTEMATICALLY REFUSED TO FULFIL ITS NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS, REFUSES ALL CONTACT AND DIALOGUE WITH ITS BONA FIDE CREDITORS, AND REFUSES TO DISCLOSE LIABILITIES WORTH US$ 80 BILLION.