Financiers estimate Air Astana’s value after its IPO

Experts from Freedom Holding, Halyk Finance and Jusan Invest have shared their estimates of the future value of Air Astana after its IPO.

According to the finance.kz website, Freedom has set a range of the company’s evaluation between $1 and $1.3 billion. The brokerage company highlighted that the airline is demonstrating rapid growth of its business while keeping the actual cost of its flights at a relatively low level. As a result, Air Astana’s margin is quite high and stable.

In turn, Jusan Invest presented two variants of Air Astana evaluation: $923 million to $1.2 billion if no additional shares are issued and $1 billion to $1.3 billion if the company issues additional shares. Air Astana said that it is going to issue additional shares worth $120 million. Halyk Finance estimated the future evaluation of the company at $980 million to $1.195 billion.

The roadshow for investors is expected to start on January 29. Once the IPO is done, at least 25% of the company’s shares will be available on the open market. So far, Samruk Kazyna controls 51% of the airline, while British BAE Systems owns 49%.

Air Astana’s shares will be placed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), while its global depository receipts will be offered on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Moreover, the company will place both securities on the Astana International Exchange (AIX).

According to Dastan Adikhodzhayev, head of the privatization and restructuring department of Samruk Kazyna, the main goal of the fund is to decrease the presence of the government in the country’s economy; boost the development of the corporate governance at the expense of new requirements for a public company; raise funds for the company’s development and earn money for the National Fund.