OREANDA-NEWS. On 03 July 2008 was announced, that in Q2 2008 capital raised through initial public offerings (IPOs) by companies from Russia and other nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) doubled from Q1, although the number of issues and amounts raised were still down compared to the same periods in 2005 – 2007, according to research issued by The PBN Company, the strategic communications consultancy.

Four CIS companies raised \\$1.1bn in Q2 of this year, nearly double the \\$566m raised in total in Q1 by two issuers.  None of the IPOs were on local exchanges, with all listings taking place in London.  Q2 was also the first quarter that Ukrainian companies topped the table in terms of number of deals and amounts raised, with MHP’s \\$323m and Cadogan Petroleum’s \\$271m LSE listings.

“This time last year was marked not only by VTB, which raised a record \\$8bn, but by the billion plus listings of MMK, AFI Development and PIK Group,” said Peter B. Necarsulmer, Chairman & CEO of The PBN Company.  “Leaving aside the obvious decline from an exceptional Q2 2007, it is noteworthy that this year’s figures have not even reached 2005 or 2006 levels.”

“Companies are continuing to take a cautious approach to capital raising amidst a bearish market, but with double the IPO volume and amount raised over last quarter, the market has started to pick up.  The pipeline leading up to Q4 appears to be significantly stronger, and in the medium term we expect to see a strong showing from CIS companies, with 96 companies believed to be considering flotations in the next 5 years,” Necarsulmer added.

In addition to these 4 CIS IPOs, Magnit, the Russian retailer, conducted a secondary public offering in London on 16 April, raising \\$490 million.  Magnit had previously floated on Russian exchanges in 2006 with a \\$363 million IPO.   London-listed X5, also a Russian retailer, raised another \\$1bn through a rights offering on April 22.  Pyaterochka, one of the companies that is now part of the X5 Group, held its \\$639m London IPO in 2005.  On June 24, NYSE-listed Mechel, which raised \\$335 in a 2004 IPO, announced a public offering of new preferred shares.