Russian IPOs slow but still much better than before the pandemic

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 11 Nov 2021 by Alex Teddy

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There have been some disappointing stock market launches and deals that have fallen through this year for Russian companies. That comes after a string of astonishingly successful IPOs. Two massive deals were axed in November 2021. The cars sharing company Delimobil and the discount alcohol store Mercury Retail had a putative deal that was aborted. It was high prices, a risky market and tough foreign competition that meant that the deal was never finalized. Russia's institutional funds and company owners are striving to cash out at the top of the market.Investors are spoilt for choice. They could have taken part in several IPOs in the US any week. Cash has rolled out through stimulus packages in lots of countries and this is entering the stock market. Investments are up in sectors that investors usually treat with caution. However, that does not guarantee investment for every project.Delimobil was due to be the world's first publicly traded car sharing company. It talked about a valuation of up to USD 1 billion. Mercury Retail runs Red and White as well as Bristol; two chains of alcohol stores. Mercury Retail anticipated a valuation of USD 12 billion. Both of these IPOs fell through at the eleventh hour. Bookbuilding towards them was unimpressive. That is when investors say how many shares they wish to purchase and what price they are prepared to pay in the days before the launch. Both companies said that the market situation was unpromising. Analysts say that these companies faced opposition from investors who did not concur with their valuations. These investors did not cut the price: they aborted the launches altogether. This is less than sparkling news comes as Russ...