State-Run Company Fails To Draw Significant Interest

There was a time when the very mention of the three letters "IPO" sent investors into a frenzy, but such was not the case for the London offering of Russian Helicopters, a state-run defense company attempting to raise about $500 million in a private capitalization plan.

After investors yawned at the offering, the company pulled the IPO from the table. Analysts say that it is likely that the company was a bit too ambitious with the $19-$25 per share initial price.

The blog "Russia Beyond The Headlines" reports that, according to Down Jones, the company came close to filling its order book, but did not quite reach the critical mass needed to continue. Dow Jones said that since Russian Helicopters was unable to release information regarding orders from the Russian government, investors were not able to know how to assess the company's value.

Russian Helicopters is reportedly just the latest Russian company to fail to generate IPO interest, including Nomos Bank and phone retailer Evroset.

FMI: www.rus-helicopters.ru/en