Russian fintech service CarMoney launches direct listing on Moscow Exchange

MOSCOW: The owner of CarMoney, a Russian company specialising in secured car loans, launched a direct listing on the Moscow Exchange on Monday in a capital raise that valued the company at around 6.3 billion roubles ($70.7 million).

In a direct listing a company offers shares to the public without going through a bank-backed initial public offering.

Western sanctions and Russian countermeasures have effectively cut Russia's financial markets off from Western capital since Moscow despatched troops to Ukraine in February 2022.

There have been some small listings, but electric scooter firm Whoosh was the only Russian firm to hold an initial public offering (IPO) in 2022. Its debut raised less than half its initial target and relied heavily on Russian retail investors for capital.

SmartTechGroup (STG), which owns CarMoney, held a direct public offering (DPO) at 3.15 roubles per share. By 0910 GMT, shares were trading at 3.32 roubles per piece.

STG plans to offer more shares in tranches, adjusting the volume and price each time. The full offering could be worth 600 million roubles and the free float is ultimately expected to reach 11%. Its initial valuation is likely to fluctuate as new tranches are introduced.

CarMoney founder Anton Zinoviev said a classic IPO was too expensive for such a small volume, also suggesting that current market conditions would be unlikely to make an IPO profitable for shareholders.

Russia's benchmark stock index still trades well below levels seen before Moscow began what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine and Russian assets are susceptible to sharp bouts of volatility.

But Moscow Exchange still expects up to 10 share placements this year, even if deals are a far cry from the multibillion-dollar ones Russia used to see. Russian biotech startup Genetico raised 178.8 million roubles in April.