The global offering, planned for the first half of 2007, comprises an offer of shares to international institutional investors inside and outside Russia and an offer of Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) to international institutional investors outside Russia.
VTB is also accepting applications from retail investors in Russia from April 9 through May 7, with the minimum price of bids totaling 30,000 rubles (about $1,153), the press office said.
The indicative price range is equal to $8.77-$10.79 per GDR, based on the official exchange rate of 25.7760 rubles per U.S. dollar quoted by the Central Bank of Russia for April 25, 2007 and with each GDR representing 2,000 shares, the press office said.
Based on the exchange rate quoted by the Central Bank of Russia for April 25, 2007, the price range reflects an implied market capitalization for VTB of approximately $22,845 million to $28,102 million, prior to taking into account the proceeds of the global offering, the press office said.
VTB intends to list the GDRs on the London Stock Exchange while its shares have been admitted to trading on the "V" lists of the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX) and the Russian Trading System (RTS) under the ticker VTBR, the press office said.
VTB's global offering comprises solely newly issued shares. VTB is currently 99.9% owned by the government of Russia, whose shareholding will drop to no less than 75% plus one share after the global offering.
VTB intends to use the proceeds of its global offering largely to support the ongoing expansion of its business, including the expansion of its retail banking operations in Russia, the press office said.
