Sistema head of investor relations Andre Bliznyuk told PRWeek the company was considering financial comms support for the offering and planned to talk to ‘not less than four firms’.
He added that likely candidates would be agencies with experience of working in Russia, naming Citigate Dewe Rogerson, Brunswick and Financial Dynamics while maintaining Sistema had yet to choose an adviser.
Sources close to the deal said Sistema was weeks away from appointing an agency to run the offering, which has been claimed as a victory for the LSE over its rival in New York, where compliance costs are higher.
The planned listing of GDRs – shares issued under a deposit agreement that represent an underlying security in the issuer’s home country – was announced on 6 October. Sistema also plans to sell 8.1 million ordinary shares on Moscow’s RTS and MICEX exchanges. The combined deal could raise up to £556m.
Sistema is a diversified holding company for brands and businesses in service-based industries, including telecoms, technology, insurance and banking.
