Dr news
Russia’s state-controlled Vneshtorgbank (VTB) raised nearly $8 billion in its sale of a 22.5% stake in the company, making it Russia’s seventh-largest company by market capitalization. VTB selected The Bank of New York as the depositary bank for its global depositary receipt program. Each GDR represents 2,000 of VTB’s ordinary shares.
The GDRs, which trade on the London Stock Exchange, were the 2,000th sponsored DR program available to investors worldwide, according to The Bank of New York. They also were the largest DR offering ever from a bank, the second-largest DR offering from a Russian issuer and the second-largest DR offering in history, following Rosneft Oil’s $6.4 billion initial public offering in DR form in July 2006.
“It is fitting that the 2,000th DR program was established by a Russian issuer completing a large IPO on the London Stock Exchange,” says Christopher Sturdy, executive vice president and head of The Bank of New York’s depositary receipt division. “It truly represents the continued growth and evolution of today’s DR market.” VTB is Russia’s leading bank for international settlement services, and it finances the foreign activity of major Russian corporations. Its GDRs rose 6.6% in their first day of trading on the London Stock Exchange on May 16.
VTB plans to use the proceeds of the issue to expand its retail banking operations in Russia. It floated 65% of its global offering in London and 35% in Russia.
Gordon Platt
