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WBD's New York IPO attracted
remarkable liquidity |
It is not every company that can use the fact that its
biggest shareholder served nine years in a labour camp for "violent
crime" as proof of its commitment to boosting shareholder value.
Wimm Bill Dann (WBD), Russia's biggest dairy and juice producer,
did just that when it raised $200 million from US investors in the
middle of February.
WBD floated a quarter of its stock on the New York Stock Exchange
in Russia's fourth-ever US IPO. It is the first Russian consumer
goods company to float abroad - the others were all telecoms
companies: VimpelCom, Rostelecom and Moscow TeleSystems.
The company was one of the first successful companies to set up
after the fall of the Soviet Union and is regarded as one of
Russia's best run.
Founded in 1992 to sell juice under its flagship J-7 brand, the
decision to launch at...
