Ozon taking action needed to change holding company's jurisdiction, but no specific timeline yet - CFO

MOSCOW. Aug 23 (Interfax) - Ozon is taking a number of actions for a potential reorganization in order to localize the holding structure, which is currently located in Cyprus, CFO of the company Igor Gerasimov said during a virtual meeting with investors.

"Of course, we want to completely get rid of foreign legal bindings on a certain horizon, but we cannot announce specific dates and details yet. But we are trying to take certain actions for this," he said, answering a question about potential redomiciliation.

"In these circumstances, it would be logical to have the main holding structure as close as possible to the operating legal entities and the main business in Russia," Gerasimov said.

Ozon operates in the markets of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia, as well as China and Turkey.

The company's shares are traded on the Moscow Exchange and the Astana International Exchange (AIX).

The day before, Ozon reported that the Nasdaq special commission had issued a second decision on the forced delisting of shares from the American exchange. The company filed an appeal twice, starting in the spring, when Nasdaq announced the delisting of the shares of a number of companies as of March 24 2023, including Ozon, whose main business is conducted in Russia

During Wednesday's event, Gerasimov said Nasdaq had reiterated its decision in favor of the delisting based on the company's announcement that Ozon has no intention of leaving the Russian market.

Gerasimov also added that the company currently has no plans to buy back shares from any categories of shareholders.

The main owners of Ozon are AFK Sistema with 31.76% and Vostok Investments with 27.75%; the remaining shares are in free float.