Russian shoe retailer Obuv Rossii plans to raise up to $136 mln in IPO

Russian shoe retailer Obuv Rossii on Monday said it planned to raise up to 7.9 billion roubles, or nearly $136 million, in its initial public offering in Moscow. The retailer first announced plans for the IPO in September, without giving specific figures.

Obuv Rossii said it had set a price range for the IPO at between 140 roubles and 170 roubles ($2.41-$2.92) per share.

The IPO would be worth between 6.5 billion roubles and 7.9 billion roubles, given the announced IPO range, “including the over-allotment shares to fund stabilisation activities,” the company said in a statement.

The IPO is a further sign of recovery in Russia’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.

After the IPO, the company’s post-offering share capital would be between 15.8 billion roubles and 19.2 billion roubles, said Obuv Rossii, which in Russian stands for ‘Shoes of Russia’.

The company, which has more than 500 stores across Russia, said it expected its free float to reach around 41 percent of the increased share capital, assuming the maximum size of the offering.

Obuv Rossii said it plans to use the IPO proceeds for expansion of its “retail network and for the development of its distribution and supply chain, partial repayment of its existing indebtedness, as well as for other general corporate purposes”.

BCS Global Markets, Citigroup, Renaissance Capital and Sberbank CIB are acting as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, Obuv Rossii said in the statement.