Astra Group to carry out SPO, increase free float to 10%-15%
MOSCOW. April 15 (Interfax) - PJSC Astra Group, the parent of a group of Russian companies that develop infrastructure software, including the Astra Linux operating system, has launched a secondary public offering that could nearly triple its free float to as much as 15%, the company announced.
"Since Astra Group's IPO in October of last year, the company's capitalization has almost doubled and the number of shareholders has exceeded 112,000. We regularly engage with investors and see strong long-term interest in our investment history. Increasing the free float is consistent with our plans to expand the shareholder base and get on the radar of new groups of investors. We believe this will facilitate the further growth of the capitalization of a dynamically developing business," group CEO Ilya Sivtsev was quoted as saying in the press release.
In the SPO, Astra Group principal shareholder Denis Frolov will offer 10.5 million to 21 million shares, which amounts to 5%-10% of the company's total shares.
"It is expected that the group's free float could increase to 15% as a result of the SPO. The final size of the free float will depend on the number of shares sold in the SPO," Astra said.
The company plans to set the price of the SPO after bookbuilding, but said it will not exceed 620 rubles per share. Bookbuilding will take place from April 15 to 18, but could conclude early if Frolov decides so as the selling shareholder.
The company also said that the sale of upwards of 5% of its shares will make it eligible for inclusion in the Moscow Exchange's top tier listing, while the sale of 10% of shares would make it eligible for inclusion in the Moscow Exchange Index.
PJSC Astra Group was formed in September 2023 from JSC Astra Group, which in turn was formed in 2021 to consolidate the Astra group of companies. The restructuring took place in 2021-2022 and was completed in December 2022. PJSC Astra Group now wholly or partially owns 17 IT companies in Russia and Belarus.
Astra Group carried out an IPO on the Moscow Exchange in mid-October 2023, placing 10.5 million shares or 5% of its equity at a price of 333 rubles per share. The IPO valued the company at 69.9 billion rubles.
Prior to the IPO, Denis Frolov owned 76.19% of Astra Group, Ilya Sivtsev owned 19.05% and the remaining 4.76% were held as quasit-treasury stock by Astra Investments. The principal shareholders now own 90.24% of shares.
In 2024-2025, up to 2 million of the company's quasi-treasury shares (1.2%) could be transferred to Astra Group employees under a new incentive program.