Big Oil seizes lithium opportunities
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Russian gold producer GV Gold has hired investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, to advise on a potential London and Moscow initial public offering (IPO) in the second quarter, which would value it at up to $2 billion, two sources close to the matter said.
The miner, backed by shareholders including U.S. fund BlackRock with a 20% stake, has been considering going public since 2018, but only in the past few months has it engaged with investment banks, the sources said.
One said that UBS had also been appointed.
GV Gold and Goldman Sachs declined to comment. UBS was not immediately available to comment.
A listing in London in addition to Moscow would open the door for GV Gold’s shares to be included in more exchange-traded funds
It is aiming to raise around $500 million in both London and Moscow this year, via a combination of new and existing shares, valuing the company between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, the sources added.
Gold mining companies looking to go public are banking on a sustained rally in the price of gold, which is hovering just below an all-time high reached in August, and investor appetite.
A listing in London in addition to Moscow would open the door for GV Gold’s shares to be included in more exchange-traded funds (ETFs), guaranteeing substantial liquidity and broadening its investor base.
Canadian companies Yamana Gold and Wheaton Precious Metals have both added a London listing over the past few months.
GV Gold would join just a handful of other Russian gold miners in London. Nordgold, majority-owned by billionaire Alexei Mordashov, said in January it is also considering a London IPO, after delisting its global depositary receipts in 2017.
More broadly, the London IPO market has so far been buoyant, with Dr. Martens and Moonpig kicking off the season with two sizeable deals. Others such as IVC Evidensia, Deliveroo and Darktrace are all expected to follow suit later this year in what could be one of the biggest years for London listings on record.
(By Clara Denina, Olga Popova and Abhinav Ramnarayan; Editing by David Evans)
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