Russia’s MegaFon has postponed the marketing campaign for its London IPO until an unspecified date after it has updated its prospectus to include recent acquisitions and third-quarter results.
The campaign had been set to kick off today, but the…
Russia’s MegaFon has postponed the marketing campaign for its London IPO until an unspecified date after it has updated its prospectus to include recent acquisitions and third-quarter results.
The campaign had been set to kick off today, but the mobile operator published a short statement this morning announcing the postponement.
“The schedule for the completion of the prospectus, including M&A activity and the UKLA [UK Listing Authority] review and its proximity to the release date for the company’s Q3 results has led the company to opt to include those results in the prospectus,” the statement read.
Last week MegaFon agreed to acquire 50% of Russian retailer Euroset for US$1.3bn.
MegaFon noted that investor interest in the “education process” has been “exceptionally strong”, adding that the company looks forward to launching the roadshow in due course.
A company spokesperson said Q3 results are expected to be announced in early November.
On 9 October, the company announced plans to proceed with an IPO on the London Stock Exchange by the end of the year. It is expected to include an offering of ordinary shares inside Russia and an offering of ordinary shares and global depository receipts to institutional investors outside Russia.
While MegaFon has Russian regulatory approval to list up to 123.38 million shares (19.9% of the total) of its shares abroad, the company has not disclosed the size of the stake it plans to float. Reports suggested the company intends to offer just 15% of its total share capital. Subsidiary MegaFon Investments Cyprus Limited (MICL) and Swedish shareholder TeliaSonera own the shares to be listed.
The banks managing the IPO have valued MegaFon at US$12bn to US$16bn, however a Bloomberg report last week said investors are seeking valuations of US$10bn to US$11bn.
Morgan Stanley and Sberbank CIB are acting as global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the IPO. Citi, Credit Suisse and VTB Capital are also joint bookrunners.
Investor Alisher Usmanov is MegaFon’s controlling shareholder via AF Telecom with a 50% stake plus one share. TeliaSonera owns 35.6% and MICL owns 14.4%.
