Fix Price set the final offer price for its initial public offering (IPO) at $9.75 per global depositary receipt (GDR), the top of its target range, implying a market capitalisation of $8.3 billion, the Russian retailer said on Friday.
Fix Price said it was increasing the size of its offering to approximately $2 billion from around $1.5-1.7 billion due to strong demand, which would make it the biggest Russian IPO since western sanctions were introduced in 2014.
The total offering of GDRs could reach 205,128,206, representing about 24.1% of Fix Price's total issued share capital if allocated in full, the company said.
Fix Price, which sells low-priced goods in shops and on line, announced its IPO plans last month aiming to capitalise on its growing popularity as the pandemic reduces many Russians' spending power.
'Strong Interest'
“It is no exaggeration to say that today’s announcement represents a landmark in the history not just of Fix Price, but also for value variety retail and the Russian retail sector more broadly, as the largest ever IPO by a Russian retailer," commented Dmitry Kirsanov, CEO of Fix Price.
"We are delighted with the extremely strong interest from the global investor community, which resulted in a strong and diversified order book including a number of blue-chip names and enabled us to upsize the offer beyond our original expectations. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our new shareholders as they join the Fix Price family, and look forward to the next chapter in the exciting Fix Price story.”
Investors appreciated the company's business model and growth prospects, Boris Kvasov, co-head of equity capital markets at VTB Capital said, adding that Fix Price was valued at a large premium to Russian companies.
"A characteristic of this deal was the increased interest from American investors, demand from whom has recently been rather limited in relation to Russian companies outside the technology sector," Kvasov said.
International Investment
He said U.S. investors accounted for about 40% of demand, UK investors for a third and investors in Russia for more than 10%.
Fix Price operates more than 4,200 stores and reported a 2020 net profit of 17.6 billion roubles ($237 million).
It said last month that BofA Securities, Citigroup, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and VTB Capital had been engaged to act as joint global coordinators and bookrunners.
It is expected to start trading in London and Moscow on March 10.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
