Newly registered in the Netherlands, Svyaznoy NV has emerged as the owner of a 99.99% stake in the Svyaznoy Group of Companies CJSC, reported Russian business daily Vedomosti.
Svyaznoy NV only controls the retail business of Svyaznoy, currently Russia’s second leading mobile phone retailer after Euroset. Other Svyaznoy assets, including a bank and a retail jewelry chain, are not part of the newly established Dutch company.
Incorporating in the Netherlands was aimed at guaranteeing a higher level of transparency and corporate governance, Svyaznoy general manager Denis Lyudkovsky told Vedomosti. Svyaznoy N.V. will also soon create a supervisory council that will include retail experts with international experience, he added.
The company could be listed on the London Stock Exchange within 12 to 18 months, Lyudkovsky also said.
Svyaznoy announced in March that it was considering its IPO, claiming a valuation “no less than for Euroset,” which was then preparing its own IPO on the LSE.
But just a few weeks later, Euroset had to postpone the operation, which lacked appeal for investors.
Svyaznoy could be valued at up to 9 times is EBITDA, or 40 billion rubles ($1.43 billion), based on the 2010 results, Deutsche Bank analyst Natalya Smirnova told Vedomosti.
Source: Vedomosti
