Russians rush to list in London
RUSSIAN steel pipe maker ChelPipe has become the third company from the former Soviet Union to announce a listing on the London Stock Exchange this week.
The company, which is to launch an initial public offering (IPO) of up to $1bn (£635.2m), follows pump manufacturer HMS Hydraulic and coking coal producer KOKS earlier this week.
The majority owner of the firm, Russian billionaire Andrei Komarov, is set to sell some of his stake as part of the flotation.
The share list price and further details of the IPO are expected in early February, a source close to the deal said.
Around 40 per cent of the company, which is valued at more than $2bn, is expected to be listed, according to the source.
Known in full as Chelyabinsk Tube-Rolling Plant, after one of its two main production facilities in the Ural region of Russia, ChelPipe was established in 1942.
It has a 15 per cent share of the Russian steel pipe market and supplies the oil and gas industry.
Vice chairman at Renaissance Asset Managers Ashar Qureshi said the deal showed how companies from emerging markets were coming of age.
He said: “For most emerging market issuers it is complicated listing in London or in a mainstream exchange, this is particularly true for companies in the early stages of development. As time progresses this is becoming less and less of an issue.”
However, he said the flurry of Russian listings did not mark a trend for the country’s firms to list in the UK.
“It’s not indicative of a surge. Other markets and listing venues, such as Hong Kong, are growing in importance as reference points,” he said.