Ilyushin Finance Corporation said Friday that it may list shares in Hong Kong next year, following hot on the heels of United Company RusAl, which hopes to list on the Chinese exchange by the end of the year.
“IFC is considering listing [shares] on the Hong Kong stock exchange,” said Vasily Prutkovsky, vice president of United Aircraft Corporation. “The issue was discussed during a meeting of the board of directors, and the board did not reject the idea.”
Ilyushin could float up to 16 percent of its shares in 2010, Prutkovsky said.
Ilyushin, an aircraft-leasing company, is co-owned by billionaire Alexander Lebedev’s National Reserve Corporation, which owns 25.83 percent, and United Aircraft Corporation, with 31 percent. He said Ilyushin was currently considering two ways to raise cash: selling part of Lebedev’s stake in Ilyushin to Vneshekonombank or an additional share issue.
No specifics are available, as the company has only started preliminary discussions, but a final decision on the IPO will be made in the first quarter of 2010 at the earliest, said Andrei Lipovetsky, a spokesman for Ilyushin.
The announcement comes as aluminum giant RusAl is preparing to list up to 10 percent of its own shares in an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange — the first Russian company to do so.
Ilyushin could be the second, as Hong Kong appears to be a lucrative market for Russian stocks, but it may be a better option for the aircraft-leasing firm to try to secure a state loan.
“Hong Kong stocks were on the rise throughout 2009 and show high levels of liquidity,” said Nikolai Podlevskikh, chief analyst at Zerich Capital Management. “Besides, Russian planes are traditionally popular in Asia, so IFC stocks could see some interest from local investors.”
Nevertheless, a state loan would be a more secure and easier way to get the relatively small amount of capitalization the company needs, Podlevskikh said.
“If we assume that the company floats 16 percent of the stock, it would be easier to get roughly $100 million from the state, which isn’t a huge amount, instead of preparing a pile of documents for the IPO and facing yet unclear prospects,” he said.
Ilyushin’s market value was estimated at 20 billion rubles ($694.5 million) by Ernst & Young as of April 1.
“On the other hand, the announcement to carry out an IPO in 2010 may be an attempt to stake out a claim to further conquer the capital markets,” he said.
Ilyushin, founded in 1999, leases commercial aircraft and provides export financing. The company reported a turnover of 2.2 billion rubles in 2008, less than half the 4.9 billion rubles that it reported in 2007.
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