Sibur planning for IPO in coming months

Russian petchem major Sibur plans to list about 2% of its shares in an initial public offering (IPO) on Russia’s Eastern Exchange in the coming months, according to gas firm Novatek CEO/Sibur shareholder Leonid Mikhelson speaking along the sidelines of the 17th Verona Eurasian Economic Forum. He furthered that the Board of Directors would discuss the IPO of the company soon.

According to the latest available data, Mikhelson holds (30.6%) in Sibur, followed by Taif shareholders (15%), Gennady Timchenko (14.5%), former and incumbent management of the company (12.3%), Sogaz (10,6%), Sinopec and the Silk Road Fund (8.5% each).

Russian listings have been thin on the ground since the exodus of Western capital after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, but a handful of small capital raises dominated by local retail investors has breathed some life into moribund equity capital markets.

A public debut by Sibur, which has been on the cards for several years, would represent a more significant step.

Russian business newspaper RBC first reported the plans, while Kommersant sources said Sibur planned to attract several tens of billions of roubles in the offering.

During the offering, Sibur may offer both existing shares and those from a stake held by the Russian treasury, which is currently about 1.3%, Reuters’ sources said.

“The market will tell, but enterprise value including debt is significantly higher than 3 trillion roubles (US$28.74 billion),” one of the sources said.

Talks on Sibur’s IPO have been circulating since 2018 with Sibur’s chief financial officer Alexander Petrov, who is also a member of the management board, dismissing it in 2018.