Air Astana summarizes results of IPO
Following the start of trading with Air Astana’s stocks on the KASE and AIX, the airline has summarized the results of its initial public offering (IPO). According to the company, the total number of orders for the stock surpassed its supply, thanks to the support of Kazakhstani and international investors.
More than half of the offering (58%) was placed on Kazakhstan’s market, while 42% of shares were offered to international investors on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) focused on common shares of Air Astana, while AIX traded with common shares and global depository receipts (GDR). (One GDR is equal to four shares.) Only GDRs were available on the LSE.
Total demand for the stock on Kazakhstan’s market surpassed $483 million, a 30.5% increase over the supply. Retail investors accounted for $216 million by submitting 60,000 applications; 53% of them were satisfied. This rate was 38% for domestic institutional investors, including the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund and 25% for international investors. According to the airline’s statement, all applications from retail investors below $30,000 were fully satisfied, while applications above this sum were partially satisfied. Consequently, 97.8% of retail investors’ applications were fully satisfied.
Air Astana reported that it raised $120 million as anticipated, while the entire size of the offering reached $370 million (after executing the option for additional offering). The current shareholders of the carrier, Samruk Kazyna and British BAE Systems, decreased their shares from 51% and 49% to 41% and 15.3%, respectively. After the IPO, the stock value of Air Astana was estimated at $847 million.
KASE accounted for three-fourths of the offering on the local market ($109.9 million), with the final price of the placement at 1,073.83 tenge per share ($2.40). During premarket trading that started on February 9, the stock’s price peaked at 1,275 tenge per share ($2.85). As the AIX reported, investors submitted $112 million worth of applications for GDRs and 49.6 billion tenge for shares ($110.8 million). As a result, investors bought GDRs for $71.6 million and 15.6 billion tenge ($34.8 million). More than half of the investors on the AIX who purchased the stocks were retail investors (56%). Standard trading with the stock commenced on all three exchanges on February 15.
