RDIF, partners ready to make new investment in Magnit, but want bigger offers by shareholders
MOSCOW. Feb 15 (Interfax) - The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and its partners are interested in buying shares in the Magnit , but would like to see the retailer's shareholders make bigger offers than the 1% its core owner Sergei Magnitsky is prepared to sell each year, RDIF chief Kirill Dmitriev told Interfax.
Galitsky sold 1% of Magnit in an SPO in February 2015 for 9.8 billion rubles. The Russian-Chinese Investment Fund, set up by the RDIF and China Investment Corporation, was the anchor investor. Galitsky planned to invest the proceeds in other projects - he owns the Krasnodar football club and is funding a new stadium for it.
Galitsky said at recent meeting with analysts that he was prepared to sell around 1% of the retailer's shares each year, Credit Suisse has said in a report.
"Magnit is certainly an attractive company for many traditional investment partners, but we'd be interested in a more active participation than 1%," the RDIF's Dmitriev said.
"Although we're prepared to discuss various forms of investment in Magnit," he said, when asked whether the RDIF was interested in new deals with the company's shares.
Galitsky owned 38.67% of Magnit directly at the end of 2015.
Magnit is Russia's biggest retailer by sales volume and number of stores. The company placed shares on the Russian market in an IPO in 2006 and placed GDRs in London in 2008. Magnit placed more shares in October 2009, selling 5.68 million shares (6% of augmented charter capital) for $369.2 million. It placed another 6.3% of shares in December 2011, raising $474.8 million.
According to Magnit's list of affiliated parties, Vladimir Gordeichuk has 2.5% of shares and Andrei Arutyunyan has 0.2%. The free float exceeds 50%.