Fix Price Raises $2bn In Biggest Russian Retail IPO

Moscow, March 5 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Mar, 2021 ) :Russia's largest cut-price retailer Fix Price said Friday it had raised $2 billion in an initial public offering in London as Russian consumers embrace discounters amid a fall in living standards.

The company said in a statement it had priced its IPO on the London Stock Exchange at $9.75 per share -- the top end of the price range -- implying a market capitalisation of $8.3 billion.

The IPO was the biggest for a Russian group since aluminium giant Rusal went public in 2010, raising $2.2 billion in Hong Kong.

It was also the largest IPO in history for a Russian retailer on any stock exchange.

Fix Price has sought to capitalise on its growing popularity as Russians' purchasing power shrinks amid mounting economic troubles brought on by Western sanctions and exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

The company's CEO Dmitry Kirsanov said the IPO represented a "landmark" in the history of not only his company but Russia's entire retail industry.

"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," he said in a statement.

Fix Price opened its doors in 2007 and currently operates more than 4,200 stores in Russia, Kazakhstan, Georgia and elsewhere.

Its shares are expected to start trading in London and Moscow next week.

Last year Russian online retailer Ozon raised over $1 billion in an IPO in the United States.