Early trading in shares of Kazakhstan’s air carrier, Air Astana, began today on securities exchanges in Astana and London as part of an initial public offering (IPO).
Trading in Air Astana’s global depositary receipts (GDRs) — a tool used by foreign investors to trade local shares of a company — also started using the company’s common shares on the Astana International Exchange (AIX), priced in U.S. dollars. Price quotes are published on the AIX’s website.
“Freedom Broker acted as a market-maker on [the AIX]. Early trades turned into main trades after completion of settlements and distribution of securities to investors’ accounts in the depository system, in accordance with the applications submitted during the IPO period,” reads an official statement.
According to the results of early trading, the final price of Air Astana’s initial public offering was 1,073.83 tenge per share and $9.5 per GDR, putting the estimated market capitalization of the company at about $847 million at the start of trading.
As part of Air Astana’s IPO, shareholders BAE Systems of the U.K. sold 7,533,109 GDRs and Kazakh national wealth fund Samruk Kazyna sold 60,393,877 shares (with an additional issue). BAE Systems sold 14,187,643 GDRs on the international market
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Gross proceeds from the offering are estimated at about $350-370 million — of which about $120 million will be used by the airline itself to finance its growth strategy.
The main public auction for Air Astana securities is scheduled for February 15 and will be held on the AIX, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE, Almaty), and the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
