CEE Equity

Kazakhstan is one of the most interesting and exciting investment stories in the equity capital markets given its privatisation plans. But the events surrounding its election over the weekend reminded investors of the risks they face.

TCS Group Holding, the Russian financial services company owned by Oleg Tinkoff is to raise $300m in new GDRs to pursue profitable growth opportunities as its entrepreneurial owner takes advantage of continuing warm sentiment towards Russian equities.

Headhunter Group, the Russian recruitment software firm, priced a $220m IPO on Wednesday in the first new listing from a Russian issuer since November 2017.

Uzbekistan is now the focus of emerging and frontier markets, as international investors, buoyed by the success of Kazakhstan’s privatisation programme, clamber to be in the first wave of opportunities the country is to offer, writes Sam Kerr.

EPP NV, a Polish firm that owns malls and office buildings, raised over €90m of equity capital in Johannesburg on Wednesday last week.

Rustranscom, the Russian freight and logistics operator, has decided against a listing that it had begun marketing in London and has opted instead for a private equity transaction.

Yellow Cake, a London-listed company operating in the uranium sector, completed a £25.9m share sale on Friday to continue funding uranium purchases from Kazakh uranium producer Kazatomprom.

Globalworth Real Estate, the London-listed real estate investment trust focused on Romania and Poland, has completed the sale of up to €500m of fresh equity to finance its pipeline of investment opportunities.

Russian equity capital markets have enjoyed the best start to the year since 2013, the year before sanctions were first levelled against the country after the annexation of Crimea.

Russian equity capital markets are red hot again, after almost two years in the cold, with supply being driven by some of Russia’s most powerful oligarchs. As investors warm to Russian equities, more of these billionaires are set to monetise some of their holdings, writes Sam Kerr.

ECM investors continue to support Russian deals and flooded into a Rub5.8bn ($89m) block in LSR Group, the Russian real estate development company, in what was the latest sell-down by one of the country’s oligarchs.

A recent resurgence in Russian ECM has gathered pace with the announcement of two IPOs in London and the US, as oligarchs seize the opportunity of a better equity window. Rustranscom (RTC), the Russian freight transportation company, joined this wave after it filed paperwork for a London listing of global depository receipts on Monday evening.