Goldman Sachs chosen adviser for Russian airport’s sale
December 20th, 2011 - 4:52 pm ICT by IANSMoscow, Dec 20 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia’s largest airport, Moscow’s Domodedovo, has chosen Goldman Sachs investment bank as an adviser for the airport’s possible sale, a banking source told Prime news agency Tuesday.
“The company has held talks with several investment banks but decided to choose Goldman Sachs because the bank was appointed as a lead manager for the airport’s IPO,” the source said.
Goldman Sachs refused to comment on the information.
Domodedovo decided in late May 2011 to postpone its initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange due to the unfavourable market. The company did not specify the size of the offering while banking sources said the airport could sell up to 20 percent of its stock to raise over $1 billion. In addition to Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup were appointed as the IPO’s lead managers.
During the IPO’s pre-marketing campaign, Goldman Sachs valuated the airport at $3.5-7.5 billion, Citigroup at $4.2-5.3 billion and J.P. Morgan at $4.3-4.4 billion.
Domodedovo is considered as one of Russia’s most closed companies. By the time of the airport’s preparations for the IPO, chairman of its board of directors Dmitry Kamenshchik was the beneficiary owner of 100 percent of DME Limited, the airport’s holding company.
He refused, however, to disclose the structure of the Domodedovo airport shareholders out of fears of a forcible takeover.
Russian prosecutors became interested in the airport’s owners as the airport’s work was disorganized and hundreds of flights were delayed in December last year due to freezing rain and problems with electricity supply and in the wake of a deadly suicide bomber attack on the arrivals area in the airport this January, which left 37 people dead and nearly 200 injured.
A source close to Domodedovo told Kommersant in spring that the airport’s beneficiaries likely intended to sell the shares to foreign investors to protect their business from possible nationalization, which has been discussed as part of the government’s plan to unify the three Moscow airports, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo in one air hub and gain control over it.
–IANS/RIA Novosti
rd
- Moscow airports fined over facilities for disabled - Dec 17, 2011
- Russian social network delays IPO after Facebook crash - May 30, 2012
- Suicide bombers kill 35 in Moscow airport (Fourth Lead) - Jan 25, 2011
- Suicide bombers kill 31 in Moscow airport (Third Lead) - Jan 24, 2011
- Bank of America earnings beat estimates - Apr 20, 2012
- Moscow airport cops suspected of extortion - Aug 29, 2012
- 31 killed in Moscow airport suicide bombing (Second Lead) - Jan 24, 2011
- Freezing rain affects airport operations in Moscow - Dec 26, 2010
- At least 31 killed & 130 injured in Russian Domodedovo airport blast - Jan 24, 2011
- Wall Street up on European hopes, bank rally - Oct 19, 2011
- Russian gold producer eyes London IPO - Jan 19, 2012
- 31 killed in Moscow airport bombing - Jan 24, 2011
- Bomb scare prompts evacuation in Moscow - Feb 06, 2011
- Amid tough times, Citibank to cut 4500 jobs - Dec 07, 2011
- Rajat Gupta threw away his duties: Prosecution - May 22, 2012
Tags: airport moscow, citigroup, dme, domodedovo airport, electricity supply, foreign investors, freezing rain, goldman sachs, initial public offering, investment banks, j p morgan, lead manager, london stock exchange, marketing campaign, morgan morgan, morgan stanley, prime news agency, ria novosti russia, russian prosecutors, suicide bomber