Bashneft says technically ready for 2013 IPO, no decision yet
MOSCOW. Nov 19 (Interfax) - Bashneft is technically prepared to hold an IPO next year, but a final decision has yet to be reached, Alexander Korsik, the oil company's president, said at a conference call.
Bashneft has now consolidated its subsidiaries.
"Right now the subject of an IPO is very topical and is already being elaborated. We have started preliminary preparations for the IPO - we have hired banks to align all management and international reporting and to streamline the corporate structure. The goal is fall of next year, by which time Bashneft should be ready to seriously talk about an IPO," the chairman of Bashneft's board of directors, Felix Yevtushenkov, has told Interfax.
"Of course, an IPO at the end of 2013 is not the goal itself. Everything will depend on the markets. If the conditions are bad, nobody will make any placement. But as of today we have long-term investment needs that require raising money - you can't endlessly take out loans. This is why placing shares is fully viable," he said.
