A final decision has not yet been taken, said Natalya Ivanova, AFI Development’s spokeswoman. A premium listing will require a higher level of disclosure of company information and corporate management from the company, in other words, it will be necessary to increase the company’s transparency, she said. But a premium offering could give the company the opportunity to attract new investors.
At 13.00 Moscow Time on Jan. 20 one global depository receipt, or GDR, the equivalent of a share, was valued at $2.25.
When restructuring its debt, AFI Development’s parent company, AFI Group, considered converting its own bonds into shares in AFI Development – in doing so AFI Group would maintain its share of more than 50 percent in the company – as well as increasing the number of shares publicly traded.
“This is a technical procedure linked with the possible conversion of AFI Group debts into shares in AFI Development, which will lead to an increase in the percentage of shares publicly traded to 25 percent, which in turn will allow the issuer to conduct a premium listing, said Maria Kolbina, an analyst at VTB Capital. This is unlikely to lead to new investors, she said, as there have been no fundamental changes in the company,
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