IPO seminar in Moscow
21 September 2006
International law firm Denton Wilde Sapte's Moscow office today held a seminar on Russian IPOs in international and domestic stock markets (main platforms and AIM), in coordination with the Russian Corporate Counsel Association (RCCA).
Over 100 guests attended, including RCCA members and invited representatives of banks, Russian and international companies, stock market advisers and experts.
The seminar was structured to allow the participants a variety of different perspectives on the current IPO process for Russian companies, presenting the points of view of international and Russian lawyers and stock exchanges, tax advisers, specialists on investors' relations and PR practitioners. The agenda also included a presentation analysing Denton Wilde Sapte's current IPO project experience in CIS countries (primarily Russia and Kazakhstan).
The seminar was co-chaired by RCCA president Alexandra Nesterenko and Denton Wilde Sapte's Moscow managing partner, Doran Doeh. Legal aspects of IPOs were covered by Neil Vickers, Nellie Alexandrova and Joel Benjamin, partners in the firm's London, Moscow and Almaty offices, respectively. John Edwards, a senior manager at the London Stock Exchange in charge of business development in Russia, presented the results of a survey conducted by the Oxford Said Business School, relating to Russian mid-cap firms' prospects on LSE Main Market and AIM. Anna Trifonova, vice-president of RTS Stock Exchange, focused on the benefits of launching an IPO on Russian stock exchanges and indicated the new tools and opportunities that issuers may take advantage of in the immediate future.
John Goldfinch, representing Bedell Group, a British consultancy firm specialising in tax planning and optimisation, spoke on the use of offshore vehicles for structuring a Russian IPO (primarily involving the jurisdictions of the English Channel islands Guernsey and Jersey). The seminar was topped off by a presentation from Mikhail Matovnikov, general director of Interfax Business Services, who shared his experience in taking a Russian company public, discussing his work in developing investor relations and increasing a firm's level of disclosure to the market.
The seminar's agenda and presentations received very positive comments from all the participants who expressed their interest in arranging further joint RCCA and Denton Wilde Sapte events.
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