X5 to file for registration of GDR prospectus with CBR for provision of uninterrupted access to MOEX trading

MOSCOW. Aug 4 (Interfax) - X5 Retail Group will submit the prospectus of its GDRs (global depositary receipts) for registration with the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), the company said.

The decision was made in order to ensure continuous admission to securities trading on the Moscow Exchange, which "does not depend on the company's listing and admission to trading on other trading floors".

No action is required from GDR holders, X5 said in a statement.

Registration of a prospectus with the Central Bank allows an issuer to qualify for primary listing status on the Moscow Exchange. Among companies with Russian assets but foreign domiciliation, such a step was recently taken by developer Etalon Group: the company registered a GDR prospectus with the Central Bank, obtained a primary listing on the Moscow Exchange, and shortly thereafter announced plans to delist from the LSE.

The retailer went public in 2005, when Pyaterochka conducted an IPO on the London Stock Exchange (with the company X5 Retail Group appearing a year later after the merger of Pyaterochka and Perekrestok). X5 was listed on the MOEX in 2018.