The range means the offering of a 35 percent stake in Comstar, primarily of new shares, would raise between $950 million and $1.17 billion in Russia's first IPO of 2006.
The flotation in London and Moscow would put a total value of $2.7 billion to $3.34 billion on Comstar, a major provider of communications services in Moscow including voice, data, Internet and pay television, with over 4 million subscribers.
Analysts said the IPO, which could be Russia's second biggest after Sistema's $1.6 billion placement in February 2005, appeared to be priced aggressively.
Whether the deal offers value will depend heavily on the degree of control Comstar can secure over Moscow's incumbent fixed-line phone company, MGTS, its chief asset, they added.
Comstar said on Friday that it had acquired an additional 3.83 percent of MGTS in a public share purchase, increasing its equity interest to 49.5 percent and its voting stake to 59.5 percent.
"We would view a valuation of $2.7 billion to $3.4 billion as reasonable in the event Comstar UTS raises its stake in MGTS to 100 percent and shows better-than-expected profitability, neither of which are foregone conclusions," brokerage Aton said in a research note.
"As things stand, the indicative price range appears aggressive; however, investors may be willing to pay an additional premium, given that Comstar UTS enjoys a virtual monopoly over Moscow's last-mile infrastructure."
"Last mile" refers to the connections from local phone exchanges directly into customers' homes and businesses.
Comstar's offering will be of 139 million new shares, while a company called Ecu Gest Holding, a 99 percent subsidiary of Sistema, is to sell 7.5 million existing shares, Comstar said in a statement.
Investors outside Russia will be able to buy Global Depositary Receipts, each equivalent to one ordinary share, while ordinary shares are being offered to investors in Russia and to international investors outside the United States.
MGTS's other large shareholder is the state with 28 percent, which is enough to block important strategic decisions. There has been no official comment from the government on whether it might sell its holding. Raiffeisenbank analyst Alexander Balakhnin estimated that MGTS was worth $2 billion. Without MGTS, he reckoned Comstar was worth $700 million to $800 million.
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