Vist Group, a major, twenty-year-old Russian developer of turn-key IT solutions for mine fleet and railroad management systems, is considering seeking capital market opportunities, according to Reuters. A resident of Skolkovo, the government-sponsored technology hub outside Moscow, Vist could thus become the first Skolkovo resident to orchestrate an IPO.
Vist has declined to make any public comments, but observers presume the company could be eyeing the Innovation and Investment Market, a special trading platform within Russia’s MICEX stock exchange that is focused on high tech companies. The timeframe for the possible IPO is subject to speculation.
Alor Invest, an investment brokerage hired to advise Vist Group on capital raising, confirmed that Vist is indeed planning to go public, but declined to comment further on what percentage of the stock may be offered and how much money Vist is hoping to raise, citing a “confidentiality agreement.”
In a behind-the-scene exchange with RBC daily, though, an anonymous source familiar with Vist’s plans reportedly said the firm might want to float 10 to 20 percent.
Alor Invest believes Vist Group’s official 420 million ruble (just over $14 million) valuation is way below its true worth. It is based on this appraisal, however, that another Russian investment brokerage, Finam, feels raising up to $14 million is what Vist Group may be shooting for.
The queue of Russian IT and mobile telecom companies lining up for access capital markets, includes Euroset and Svyaznoy, two companies that announced last year their plans for an IPO later in 2012. With a huge new wave of competition coming with Russia’s membership in the WTO, many technology firms want to have their boards waxed and ready to surf the wave.
In July of last year, Utinet.ru, one of Russia’s largest online retailers, began trading on the Moscow stock exchange.
