Dodo Pizza is going to move to Kazakhstan
Dodo Brands, a parent company for Dodo Pizza, a Russian chain of pizza restaurants, is preparing for redomiciliation to the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC), according to the company’s channel on Telegram. Once the redomiciliation happens, it will be the third such move after redomiciliation to the AIFC by Polymetal and Fix Price.
Currently, Dodo Brands is registered in the British Virgin Islands. Even though the holding’s board of directors has already approved the move, the final decision about redomiciliation must be made by the general meeting of shareholders, which is occurring online from January 10 to January 26.
Dodo Pizza was established in 2011 in Syktyvkar by Russian entrepreneur Fyodor Ovchinnikov. Since the very beginning, the company has been focused on expansion in different regions of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, China, Lithuania, the U.S., the U.K. and Nigeria (as of 2021). The company refused to reveal the current list of countries of its presence.
The business model of Dodo Pizza is based on franchising when the chain helps entrepreneurs open restaurants in return for entry fees and monthly royalties. The company claims to be the biggest pizza restaurant chain in Russia and Kazakhstan.
In December 2023, Dodo Pizza reported $100 million in revenue (+48% year-on-year) with $94.3 million earned in the region of Eurasia. The company reported growth both in attendance ratio and average bill.
Polymetal, a Russian metallurgical company, completed redomiciliation to the AIFC in the summer of 2023. Right before the move, the company split its business into two parts: one became a business operating only in Russia and the other is an international entity registered in Astana. Its shares are traded at the Astana International Exchange (AIX), while they were previously available on the London Stock Exchange. The company is still listed on the MOEX, although this listing in Moscow is now less important for its overall business. Polymetal runs two mining sites in Kazakhstan: the Varvarinskoye mine in the Kostanay region and the Kyzyl field in the Abay region. The metallurgical company will invest $767.7 million into a mining complex in the Pavlodar region to process gold concentrate.
In November 2023, Fix Price, a Russian retail chain, announced the same intention to redomicile to the AIFC from Cyprus. However, unlike Polymetal, the company has kept a listing of its depository receipts on the LSE. Its securities will be available both on AIX and MOEX.
