Russian car-sharing organisation Delimobil raises $46 mn in Moscow IPO

Delimobil IPO: The vehicle-sharing service focused firm Delimobil on Tuesday informed that it has raised $46.4 million in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Moscow Exchange, the first of several market debuts expected in the country in 2024.

A handful of small capital raises late last year sparked some life into Russia's moribund equity capital markets, which have been subdued since Western capital flooded out after Moscow  decided to despatch its army to Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian companies raised only around 140 billion roubles in nine IPOs and four SPOs (secondary public offerings) last year, highlighting the currently limited scope of public listings, with retail investors snapping up large portions. The Moscow Exchange hopes for over 20 in 2024.

IPO highlights

Delimobil said more than 45,000 retail investors had participated in the offering, with their total volume of acquired shares equaling that of institutional investors.

The IPO was priced at 265 roubles per share, the upper end of Delimobil's price range, giving the company an estimated market capitalisation of 46.6 billion roubles. The free-float was 9 per cent.  

Delimobil said the funds raised would be used for business development and debt reduction.

Founded in 2015, Delimobil is one of Russia's biggest car-sharing providers with a fleet of over 24,000 vehicles and above 9 million registered users in 10 cities.

In 2021, prior to Russia launching what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, Delimobil had been planning to raise as much as $240 million in a US listing.

The company was hoping to also raise $350 million by listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), as the company stock is slated to begin trading on February 7.