RTS President Oleg Safonov says he is not going to sell the burse’s stocks.
Photo: Valery Melnikov
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RTS Rumored to Be Sold Soon
The board of the RTS stock exchange decided Thursday to bring in a deputy chief executive in charge of finances. The BOD also discussed a possible evaluation of the burse by Morgan Stanley in yet another indication that the stock exchange is being prepared for a sale.
Andrey Uralsky has been appointed as deputy chief executive on finances at the RTS. Mr. Uralsky will be overseeing the preparation of the burse’s consolidated accounts under international standards.
The board also considered an evaluation of the RTS group by Morgan Stanley, but did not pass any decision despite recent talks with the investment bank. Morgan Stanley is well-known for organizing mergers and takeovers of exchanges as well as their sale.
The RTS is Russia’s largest stock exchange with net profits at $20 million posted last year.
A Kommersant source close to the RTS says that the appointment of a finance director and discussion of the burse’s evaluation are “steps necessary for the preparation of documents ahead of its possible sale to an outside investor.”
Those in the market are of the same opinion, saying its sale would make sense as major foreign trading floors are making a move to Russia. Deutsche Boerse has recently opened on office in Moscow while NASDAQ and OMX are declaring intentions to come to Russia soon. The RTS’s market price is now about $320 million, calculated on the basis of quotations in the RTS Board system.
The stock exchange has officially dismissed rumors of the coming sale, saying that the board has not discussed this issue in the past 18 months.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of June 15, 2007
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