Russian petrochemicals giant Sibur plans IPO in coming months
Russian petrochemicals giant Sibur plans to list about 2% of its shares in an initial public offering on Russia's Eastern Exchange in the coming months. Russian listings have been thin on the ground since the exodus of Western capital after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, but a handful of small capital raises dominated by local retail investors has breathed some life into moribund equity capital markets.
A public debut by Sibur, which has been on the cards for several years, would represent a more significant step.
Russian business newspaper RBC first reported the plans, while Kommersant sources said Sibur planned to attract several tens of billions of roubles in the offering.
During the offering, Sibur may offer both existing shares and those from a stake held by the Russian treasury, which is currently about 1.3%, Reuters' sources said. "The market will tell, but enterprise value including debt is significantly higher than 3 trillion roubles ($28.74 billion)," one of the sources said.
In 2022, after merging with petrochemicals firm TAIF, Sibur's leading shareholders were Leonid Mikhelson, head of gas producer Novatek, with a 30.6% stake, and Gennady Timchenko, a billionaire friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, controlling 14.5%.
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