Russian privately-held freight rail operator Globaltrans Investment Ltd. said Friday that it plans to list on the London Stock Exchange through an initial public offering by the end of June, despite ongoing market volatility.
The company, whose key customers include oil giants OAO Lukoil and OAO Rosneft, will undertake an IPO of global depository receipts, representing interests in its ordinary shares. The offer will comprise approximately 30% of total company shares, consisting of primary and secondary components.
No details about how much it hopes to raise were immediately available.
Globaltrans said it's Russia's largest privately-owned freight rail operator, and the second largest freight rail operator in Russia after Russian Railways and its affiliates, including Freight One, by number of rolling stock operated.
The company provides rail freight transport and logistics services, as well as certain ancillary services to large industrial customers and medium-size corporate customers in Russia. It also transports customers' cargos to destinations in Russia and Ukraine, focusing mainly on transportation of such higher-margin cargos as ferrous metals, scrap metal, oil and oil-related products.
Chief Executive Sergey Maltsev said in a statement that "demand for rail freight services in Russia is increasing strongly, as a result of firmly established economic growth and liberalization of the sector."
"As the leading private operator in the rail freight sector, Globaltrans is well positioned to benefit from these trends, through our highly effective operating systems and our experienced and entrepreneurial management team," he said..
Maltsev voiced confidence that the IPO will give the group "greater access to capital and enhance our opportunities for growth and value creation in this very exciting time for the industry."
The group's operating profit in 2007 and 2006 was $127.6 million and $76.8 million, respectively. As at Dec. 31, the group's assets were $778.0 million.
Globaltrans operates through its two wholly owned operating subsidiaries, OAO New Forwarding Company and OOO Sevtechnotrans.