For three years, Russian companies retreated from the London stock market. Now, a pair of oil and mining billionaires is hoping to break the drought.
En+ Group Ltd., owned by aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, and Polyus PJSC, a gold producer controlled by the family of Suleiman Kerimov, are planning to sell shares in May or June. If successful, they could raise as much as $3 billion in London and Moscow.
The deals will test investor appetite for Russian assets after a rally in share prices, driven by the commodities recovery and expectations of receding tensions between Moscow and the U.S. While there have been some secondary share sales in London, including by Novolipetsk Steel PJSC in December, En+ and Polyus would be the first Russian companies to join the London exchange since 2014, according to London Stock Exchange data.
“Investors’ interest to Russia was super high at the start of the year. Now, it is a bit smaller, but still impressive,” Kirill Chuyko, chief strategist at BCS Global Markets in Moscow, said by phone. “Companies want to cash out this situation.”
Russian companies pulled out of international markets in recent years due to sanctions, weak commodity prices and support from the Kremlin to move listings to Moscow. Uralkali PJSC and Eurasia Drilling Co. quit the London market in 2015, and gold miner Nordgold SE delisted in March.
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