Russian shoe retailer Obuv Rossii plans Moscow IPO

Russian shoe retailer Obuv Rossii plans to list shares in an initial public offering (IPO) in Moscow to raise funds for expansion, it said on Tuesday, in a further sign of recovery in the country’s new issues market.

A growing number of Russian companies are looking to raise funds via share sales as the country’s economy recovers and foreign investors make a cautious return to Russian assets despite Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict.

A financial market source told Reuters on Monday the company planned to raise over $100 million.

It would be the first flotation by a Russian company since gold producer Polyus’s $879 million share sale in June.

Russia’s gross domestic product is projected to grow around 2 percent this year, with the economy seen firmly on track to recover from weak oil prices and the initial impact of Western sanctions.

Obuv Rossii, which says it is the largest mid-price retailer in Russia’s shoe market, plans to list around 40 percent of its increased share capital on the Moscow Stock Exchange, it said, reviving a plan shelved since 2013.

Russian gold producer GV Gold also said this month it planned to list shares in 2018, while En+ Group, which manages tycoon Oleg Deripaska’s aluminium and hydropower businesses, may launch its IPO in the coming days.

Obuv Rossii, which has more than 500 stores across Russia, gave no date for its planned IPO.

“Our key strategic goal is to continue organic growth and to double store count within three years, further strengthening our leadership in the mid-price segment...,” Anton Titov, the chief executive officer and main shareholder, said in a statement.

Obuv Rossii said it would also use the proceeds from the deal to develop its distribution and supply chain. The company turned over 10 billion roubles ($174 million) in revenues and made core earnings (EBITDA) of 2.5 billion roubles in 2016.

Russian financial group BCS as well as Citigroup, Renaissance Capital and Sberbank’s unit Sberbank CIB are acting as joint global coordinators and bookrunners in connection with the offering.