Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref
Photo: Ilya Pitalev
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Govt Support Didn’t Suffice for Sberbank
Yesterday was the last day for the holders to buy Sberbank stocks under the first refusal right. Now its time for remaining investors to pay up their bids, i.e. the placement project of Sberbank has reached the risky area.
Sberbank that was quoted at 85,000 rubles on MICEX yesterday, i.e. 6 percent below the announced placement price for the new stocks, managed to climb to 91,700 rubles only by the day-end.
Even though spokesmen of biggest minority holders – Suleiman Kerimov (6 percent) and Elena Baturina (1 percent) – confirmed the payment effected under the right of first refusal, Sberbank is still uneasy, this time because of the quote decline, said a source familiar with the progress in placement. The buyout of new stocks by the third party investors could be not as smooth as desired.
“We can guarantee that the stocks of Sberbank will be amid the most dynamic ones as far as the market is recovering,” Russia’s Economic Development Minister German Gref announced from Singapore to boost Sberbank after the 6-percent drop on the market. “Investors have undertaken to pay and I don’t think any changes may happen,” Interfax quoted Gref as saying, triggering the market growth for Sberbank.
But Sberbank is hardly sustained only by the statements of top-rank bureaucrats. “The government’s support of Sberbank stocks was evident in the last three days when it was maintained strictly above 89,000 rubles,” said Nikita Korentsvit from Solid Management. “But yesterday, the market showed it could be stronger than the backup.”
The investors could subscribe for new stocks of Sberbank from January 30 to February 19. The holders could have bought the stocks under the right of first refusal till and on March 5, and investors will pay up their bids from March 6 to March 21. Sberbank plans to place up to 3.5 million new stocks.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 06, 2007
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