OREANDA-NEWS. October 9, 2007. After an abortive attempt to raise $700M to fund its expansion plan a year ago, the Novorossiysk Sea Port Co (NTMP) has announced its intention to make an IPO on the London and Moscow stock markets next month. Novorossiysk port, on the Black Sea, is Russia's largest in terms of cargo volume, mostly exports. It is also one of the largest outlets for crude oil shipments in the world. But capacity limits for berths, oil pipelines, and rail links, as well as personal conflicts, have prevented the port from growing significantly beyond its current throughput.

The port’s current market capitalisation has been hovering between $500M and $600M. The fundraising to be attempted should fetch $100-$150M, but no target has been disclosed so far. Morgan Stanley and Troika Dialog are to administer the IPO. The proposed share issue follows the sale of a bloc of 6.3% of shares held by principal shareholder Alexander Ponomarenko, who last year took over 80% of the stock after buying out another major shareholder. The Russian state holds a 20% stake, which is effectively under the control of Russian rail company RZD. If the sale is successful, Novorossiysk will be the first Russian port to become listed on the international market. Its star has been rising since the Kremlin decision to revive and implement the proposed Bourgas-Alexandropoulos crude oil pipeline along the western shore of the Black Sea, avoiding the Bosporus. Reconstruction of Sochi, further south on the Black Sea coast, to prepare the 2014 Winter Olympics, has also given the maritime sector along the coast a market filip.