Russia: Initial equity sales hopes turn to dust

Hopes of a Russian equity market bonanza at the beginning of the year have been soundly dashed with the cancellation of a trio of planned offerings and the slashing of the sole transaction that actually made it to market. The failed offerings have inevitably sparked controversy about the valuation levels placed on the stock by potential issuers and their lead managers and have called into question the prospect of a boom in IPOs from Russia this year.

“There’s clearly a big difference between where owners see value and where investors see value,” says Roland Nash, chief investment strategist at Russian fund manager Verno ­Capital in Moscow.