MTS mulling possibility of holding IPO for MTS AdTech, Urent in spring window of 2026 - CFO

MOSCOW. May 21 (Interfax) - MTS Group is considering holding an IPO for its portfolio companies in advertising, MTS AdTech, and the kick-sharing sector, Urent, in spring 2026, the company's CFO Alexei Katunin said during an online conference for investors and analysts.

Rovshan Aliyev, head of MTS Ecosystem Group, in turn said that both subsidiaries would technically be ready for placement by the end of the third quarter, beginning of the fourth quarter this year.

PJSC MTS CEO Inessa Galaktionova first announced in March the plans to take the companies public via IPOs, with the company at the time hoping for favorable conditions for the placement in 2025.

The prospects for an IPO for both companies depend on the situation in the capital markets, according to the senior managers.

Katunin explained that the group does not expect the Central Bank of Russia to cut the key rate to a certain level from the point of view of the situation in the markets, but rather "a change in the rhetoric of the monetary authorities".

"Our current understanding is that even if the key rate remains at a relatively high level, the market does not expect it to be fixed, though expects a gradual reduction. This would redistribute investments in the capital markets and allow us to obtain a higher valuation [of the business of assets preparing for an IPO]," he said.