OREANDA-NEWS. On 15 January 2009 was announced, that Q4 2008, for the first time since Q3 2004, saw no initial public offerings (IPOs) by companies from Russia and other nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), according to research issued by The PBN Company, the strategic communications consultancy.

Furthermore, H2 2008 was the slowest six month period in terms of CIS IPO activity since H2 2003 – only one company, Russian fertilizer company Acron, floating during the second half of the year, raising just USD 2.7 million in August.

“Given the drastic decline in equity market activity worldwide, it is not surprising that companies from Russia and the CIS have chosen to bide their time,” said Peter B. Necarsulmer, Chairman & CEO of The PBN Company.  “An IPO is now part of a medium to long term strategy for companies from the region, as they wait for international and domestic markets to recover and investor confidence to rebound.”

Although there was no IPO activity in Q4, one company did raise funds in the equity markets – Russian retailer Dixy, which floated on Russian exchanges in 2007, raised USD 52 million in an additional share sale on November 24, 2008.   In addition,  Concern Tractor Plants, Russia's largest manufacturer of tractors and industrial machinery, completed a technical listing of global depository receipts on December 29, 2008, that raised no additional capital.