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(Alliance News) - Air Astana JSC on Friday confirmed it plans to list shares as global depositary receipts in London and on two local exchanges in Kazakhstan.
Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan, and Air Astana is the largest airline group in Central Asia and the Caucasus region based on market share, it said. The company operates a fleet of 50 aircraft, split between the Air Astana full-service brand and the FlyArystan budget carrier. Air Astana started flying in 2002 and FlyArystan in 2019.
Air Astana will list its GDRs on the London Main Market, while its shares will be listed on the Astana International Exchange and have a premium listing on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange.
The international offer of GDRs will be run by Citigroup Global Markets Ltd and Jefferies International Ltd as joint global coordinators and bookrunners and by Wood & Co Financial Services AS as joint book runner. The share price and number of shares sold will be determined by the book-building process.
The initial public offering will include both new shares and existing ones held by BAE Systems (Kazakhstan) Ltd, part of UK aerospace firm BAE Systems PLC, and Sovereign Wealth Fund Samruk-Kazyna JSC.
Air Astana said it will have at least a 25% free float of its shares, and BAE plans to grant an over-allotment option for up to a maximum of 15% of the off of GDRs, each of which represents four shares.
The IPO is expected to be completed in February.
BAE shares were up 0.2% at 1,180.45 pence in London early Friday.
By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor
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