RNS Number:3320A
Aurora Russia Limited
24 March 2006
THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION
IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN
Aurora Russia Limited
First Day of Dealings on the Alternative Investment Market
(LONDON, 24 March 2006) - Aurora Russia Limited (the "Company" or "Aurora
Russia"), an investment vehicle established to make equity or equity related
investments in small and mid-sized private companies in Russia which are focused
on the financial, business and consumer services sectors, announces that the
Company's shares have today been admitted to trading on the Alternative
Investment Market ("AIM") of the London Stock Exchange ("Admission"). The
Company's trading ticker symbol is AURR. This follows the successful placing
with institutional investors (the "Placing") which raised #75 million (before
expenses) for the Company.
Investec is the Company's nominated adviser and Investec and Altium Capital are
the Company's joint brokers.
The Company's directors (the "Directors") believe that the Russian market has
exciting growth prospects and that Aurora Russia and the Manager are well placed
to identify and evaluate appropriate investment opportunities which fall within
its chosen sectors. The Admission provides investors with:
* The opportunity to benefit from the skills and experience of a
management team, led by John McRoberts and James Cook, who combine over 20
years' of experience of working with approximately 120 small and mid-sized
companies in Russia
* An opportunity to gain exposure to equity or equity related
investments in small and mid-sized private growth companies in Russia
* Exposure to Russia which has enjoyed a sustained period of economic
growth with a real GDP growth rate of 7.2% in 2004 and significant growth in
disposable incomes
* A focus on sectors in which, in the opinion of the Directors, there is
potential for growth together with viable exit opportunities: the financial,
business and consumer services sectors
* An opportunity to invest in the Russian market at a time when the
services sector has become an increasingly important contributor to growth
Commenting on the successful Placing, Sir Trevor Chinn, Non-Executive Chairman,
said:
"We are delighted that the launch of the Company has met with such strong
interest in investing in Russia and in our management team, with its significant
expertise in both sourcing deals and investing in Russian companies."
James Cook, Executive Director of the Manager, commented:
"We believe that Aurora Russia will be ideally placed in the coming years, to
capitalise on a Russian economy whose continued growth will be most felt in the
services sectors on which we are focused. The Company will enable investors to
have exposure to this opportunity, on a portfolio basis, through an AIM listed
company and with a management team with considerable experience in the region."
John McRoberts, Executive Director of the Manager, said:
"We will be focusing on the best of our investment opportunities and accordingly
we have raised #75 million in our IPO, from blue-chip institutions. This is a
smaller fund than the maximum we had considered, ensuring that the fund will be
invested in the highest quality opportunities and more quickly than previously
anticipated. It will also mean that we can spend more time, and at an earlier
stage, assisting the businesses with their growth plans and development."
PLACING STATISTICS
Placing Price #1.00
Number of Placing Shares 75,000,000
Number of Ordinary Shares in issue immediately following Admission 75,000,000
Gross proceeds of the Placing receivable by the Company #75,000,000
Net proceeds of the Placing receivable by the Company after expenses #70,500,000
Market capitalisation of the Company at the Placing Price #75,000,000
Contacts:
Aurora Russia Limited Today: +44 20 7831 3113
John McRoberts Thereafter: +7 495 799 6595
James Cook
Investec: Nominated Adviser and joint Broker
Rupert Krefting +44 207 597 5970
Chris Godsmark
Paul Gray
Altium: Joint Broker
Garry Levin +44 20 7484 4040
Tim Richardson
Financial Dynamics
Giles Sanderson +44 20 7831 3113
Svetlana Fedyunin
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Investment Strategy and Policy
Investment Strategy
The strategy of Aurora Russia is to make equity or equity related investments in
small and mid-sized private Russian companies focused on the financial, business
and consumer services sectors where the Directors believe there is potential for
growth together with viable exit opportunities within two to four years of
making such investments. The Company intends to provide its investee companies
with the necessary capital and the Manager shall provide hands-on operational
support to deliver significant step changes in performance and value creation.
The Company aims to be the investor of choice for small and mid-sized private
Russian companies seeking capital.
The Manager will work closely with the management of each investee company to
create value by focusing on driving growth through revenue creation, margin
enhancement and extracting cost efficiencies, as well as implementing
appropriate capital structures to enhance returns.
The Directors intend to make investments in companies or businesses with
competent and motivated management which have a presence in growing markets,
which enjoy brand recognition, have scalable business models, have strong
relationships with customers and suppliers and with transparent accounting
policies.
Aurora Russia will target companies with Enterprise Values of up to
approximately #100 million and will seek to secure blocking or controlling
stakes and board representation. Aurora Russia intends generally to take equity
stakes of greater than 20 per cent. in each portfolio company. It is anticipated
that each equity investment will typically be between #5 million and #25
million. The Directors are currently considering investing in ten to twelve such
investee companies and intend that the funds of the Company will be
substantially invested within 18 months of Admission.
The Directors will, when appropriate, consider how best to realise value for
Shareholders whether through a trade sale, flotation or secondary refinancing of
the investee companies. The proposed exit route will form a key consideration of
the initial investment analysis.
Investment Policy
In assessing the companies in which to make an investment, the Manager and the
Directors will give consideration to, amongst other factors, each entity's
medium to long term prospects and the extent to which they believe the entity
displays the following characteristics:
* Competent and motivated management
- Dynamic management teams
- Challenging performance based remuneration structures
* Accounting transparency
- International Financial Reporting Standards
* Growth potential
- Operate within fragmented markets with consolidation opportunities
- Ability to create value through economies of scale
- Blue-chip clients and relationships capable of further development
- Control over business elements that drive competitive advantage and increase
market share
- Clear advantages in distribution and brand recognition
- First entry advantage
* Viable exit opportunities, including:
- Trade Sale
- Flotation
- Secondary re-financing
Although these characteristics are important criteria for assessing a
prospective investment, every investment opportunity will also be analysed by
reference to the potential risks and rewards of the investment itself and its
valuation; an investment may be made even in the absence of some of these
characteristics.
In general, investments will only be made when the Manager and the Directors
believe that the investments have a reasonable prospect of an exit or that the
investment is expected to return capital and an attractive dividend or profit
stream within a reasonable period of time.
Proposed Investments
The Manager has identified and, in most cases, initiated discussion with a
number of potential investee companies which the Manager believes fall within
the Company's investment criteria. There is, however, no guarantee that any of
these investment opportunities will be completed by the Company. The types of
investment opportunities identified by the Manager include:
* A money transfer business providing money transfer services
primarily to immigrant workers living in Russia who send money to their families
living in a number of former Soviet Republics. This company is currently part of
a bank and is being "spun off" as an independent entity. This company intends to
roll out a network of its own outlets in Russia and CIS and to increase its
agency network. The company's shareholders intend to effect a flotation of this
business within the next two years.
* A document storage business which provides outsourced facilities
to corporate clients for the storage and management of their documentation. With
the cost of real estate in central Moscow reaching levels on average of US$700
per square metre, the Directors believe that offsite management and retention is
becoming increasingly important to Moscow based businesses. A capital injection
by Aurora Russia would be used, inter alia, to enable the company to expand its
operations.
* An auto leasing business which provides vehicle fleet management
services mainly to multi--national corporate clients. Services include the
provision of a fully managed and funded fleet of vehicles on an operating lease
basis to corporate clients, including maintenance and insurance thereof. A
capital injection by Aurora Russia would be used, inter alia, to improve fleet
acquisition terms, increase the geographical spread of the business and increase
the scale of its operations.
* A financial supermarket which provides consumers with residential
mortgages (including equity release loans), credit cards and personal loans.
This company intends to invest in an existing banking operation which will roll
out retail units initially in Moscow and St. Petersburg to help satisfy the
growing demand for these products. With the Russian mortgage market expected to
grow at approximately 70 per cent. each year until 2010, the Directors believe
that there is an opportunity to provide (a) consumers access to mortgages
through "user friendly" retail locations and (b) equity release loans to
homeowners which would be used to fuel consumer demand in Russia.
The Placing is not conditional upon the Company making an investment in any of
the above investment opportunities.
Background to the Russian opportunity
Over the past five years, Russia has enjoyed a sustained period of strong
economic growth. As a result, disposable incomes continue to grow significantly
and now compare favourably with more developed economies. According to survey by
AC-Nielsen released in January 2006, only 5 per cent. of Russian respondents
said they had no extra cash after covering essential expenses, compared with an
average of 10 per cent. worldwide. With plenty of extra cash to spend, 70 per
cent. of Russians said that they would spend their money on consumer goods.
Trade, including wholesale and retail trade, has become a major sector of the
Russian economy, reaching 21.3 per cent. of total GDP in 2004. Retailing has
become an increasingly significant proportion of economic growth, with real
turnover increasing by 9.8 per cent. per annum on average in 2000-04. The
Directors of Aurora believe that in the coming years the continued growth in the
Russian economy will have a favourable effect on the services sectors of the
economy for the following reasons:
* Real disposable income growth is likely to continue at
6.5-7.5 per cent. a year in 2005-10, strongly supporting growth in retail
turnover. Real appreciation of the rouble is also positive for retail growth.
* The government continues its efforts to increase the
incomes of the poorest part of the population (pensioners and budget-funded
employees) and considers this as a key social priority. In 2005-07, real growth
of pensions should total 50 per cent., while the real wage increase is set at 10
per cent. per year in the 2005-07 budgets. Economic theory suggests that growth
in wages and salaries should lead to a proportional increase in consumption,
while incomes that are not related to labour, such as dividends, interest, and
so on, are more important to savings growth.
* Credit availability also strengthens the demand for
consumer goods, which opens avenues for expansion of consumption and a parallel
increase in the retail sector. In the coming years, it is expected that
consumer credit will become more common not only in Moscow and St. Petersburg
(although these cities account for more than 50 per cent. of Russia's total
retail turnover) but in other regions as well.
The Russian banking sector has also evolved over the past thirteen years
reflecting the new needs and challenges of the market economy. Although it
remains underdeveloped and relatively weak compared even to Central and Eastern
Europe countries, with banking assets of just 42.5 per cent. of GDP, the
Directors believe that its position in the economy is expected to grow for the
following reasons:
* The banking sector has become a main player in the
business payments settlement process. The share of barter deals in
inter-enterprise settlements has dropped significantly, while the share of cash
payments via the banking system has increased on the back of economic
stabilisation and improvements to this sector.
* Economic and political stabilisation have vastly improved
since the mid-nineties which has boosted development of the banking sector.
* Introduction of deposit insurance in 2004 has resulted in
an increase in private deposits from US$96 billion in December 2004 to US$110
billion by June 2005, or by 17 per cent.
The growth in disposable incomes has led to improvements in the prospects of the
housing construction sector. Residential construction is expected to continue to
grow by more than 10 per cent. a year in the medium term, pushing the cumulative
growth of construction to 8.5 per cent. in 2005-10. Moreover, Russia's mortgage
system is gradually developing. According to a recent study by McKinsey, the
mortgage market in Russia could reach US$25 billion by 2010. Loans secured
against property were around US$1 billion in 2005, or 0.3 per cent. of GDP.
Key Biographies
Sir Trevor Chinn CVO (aged 70) - Non-Executive Chairman
Sir Trevor Chinn is currently Chairman of the Automobile Association. He became
Chairman in October 2004 when it was acquired by CVC Capital Partners and
Permira. He is also Chairman of AIM-listed ITIS Holdings plc, a traffic
information company and Chairman of AIM-listed Vigilant Technology Ltd, a
company which designs and manufactures 'intelligent' solutions for the high-end
CCTV security and surveillance market. He is a Member of the Advisory Board of
CVC Capital Partners. He was Chairman of Kwik-Fit Group Limited from November
2002 when it was acquired by CVC until August 2005 when it was sold. Sir Trevor
Chinn retired in April 2003 as Chairman of RAC plc (formerly Lex Service PLC)
after 47 years service. In 1999 he was appointed by the Deputy Prime Minister,
John Prescott, as Vice Chair of the Commission for Integrated Transport,
stepping down in June 2004. He was also asked to form and continues to chair
the Motorists' Forum. He is a Director of Automotive Skills, the Skills Council
for the retail automotive industry. He was awarded the CVO in 1989 and a
knighthood in 1990 for his charitable activities.
John McRoberts (aged 45) - Executive Director of the Manager
Mr McRoberts has over nine years experience providing corporate finance advice
to companies operating in Russia. In 1998, Mr McRoberts set up the corporate
finance business of Altium (formerly Apax Partners Corporate Finance) in Russia
and managed the business until 2003. He has completed a number of transactions
in Russia, including several in the media and services sectors. Mr McRoberts has
recently resigned as the head of the Corporate Finance Advisory Practice at
Deloitte & Touche in Moscow to focus on the Company. Mr McRoberts holds an MBA
in Finance from the Garvin School of International Management in Arizona and a
BSC in Finance from Arizona State University.
James Cook (aged 42) - Executive Director of the Manager
Mr Cook has over 12 years experience advising, founding and managing companies
in the consumer finance, residential mortgage lending and leasing sectors in
Russia. He is a former Executive Vice President of Delta Capital, Chairman of
Delta Financial Services Group and the founder, Chairman and CEO of ZAO
DeltaCredit. He was also co-founder and Chairman of ZAO DeltaLeasing (now known
as Europlan), a major provider of equipment and automobile fleet leasing in
Russia. Mr Cook previously served as Chairman and CEO of ZAO DeltaBank, one of
Russia's pioneers in consumer finance and the major provider of VISA credit
cards in Russia. In 2004, ZAO DeltaBank was sold to GE Consumer Finance Russia.
Mr Cook became Chairman and CEO of GE Consumer Finance Russia prior to this
sale and has recently resigned from this position to focus on the Company. He
is currently a non-executive director of ZAO Forus Bank. Mr Cook was a Merit
Scholar at Hampden-Sydney College and holds a B.S. in Finance from Virginia
Tech. Mr Cook is a Russian speaker.
This document, which has been issued by the Company and is the sole
responsibility of the Company, has been approved for the purposes of Section 21
of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 of the United Kingdom by Investec
Bank (UK) Limited of 2 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7QP.
This document does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to
sell, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase any securities and any
purchase of securities of the Company pursuant to the Placing should only be
made on the basis of the information contained in the formal admission document
issued in connection with the Placing (the "Admission Document") and any
supplement or amendment thereto. The Admission Document contains detailed
information about the Company and its management, as well as financial
statements and other financial data.
The Placing will be made in the United Kingdom to institutional investors.
Neither this document nor any copy of it may be taken or transmitted into the
United States, Australia, Canada or Japan or to a resident, national or citizen
of the United States, Australia, Canada, the Republic of South Africa, the
Republic of Ireland or Japan. The Placing and the distribution of this document
and other information in connection with the Placing in certain jurisdictions
may be restricted by law and persons into whose possession any document or other
information referred to herein comes should inform themselves about and observe
any such restriction. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may
constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
The Company's ordinary shares (the "Shares") have not been and will not be
registered under the applicable securities laws of Australia, Canada or Japan
and may not be offered or sold within the United States, Australia, Canada, the
Republic of South Africa, the Republic of Ireland or Japan or to, or for the
account or benefit of citizens or residents of the United States, Australia,
Canada, the Republic of South Africa, the Republic of Ireland or Japan.
The Shares may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration
or an exemption from registration.
The price and value of securities may go down as well as up. Past performance is
not necessarily a guide to future performance. Persons needing advice should
contact a professional adviser who specialises in advising on the acquisition of
shares and other securities.
This document includes statements that are, or may be deemed to be,
"forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified
by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes",
"estimates", "plans", "projects", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may",
"will", or "should" or, in each case, their negative or other variations or
comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include matters that
are not historical facts and include statements regarding the Company's
intentions, beliefs or targets.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because
they relate to future events and circumstances. A number of factors could cause
actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or
implied by the forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual
results. Any forward-looking statements in this document reflect the Company's
view with respect to future events as at the date of this document and are
subject to risks relating to future events and other risks, uncertainties and
assumptions relating to the Company's operations, results of operations, growth
strategy and liquidity. Save as required by law or by the Listing Rules of the
Financial Services Authority, the Company undertakes no obligation publicly to
release the results of any revisions to any forward-looking statements in this
document that may occur due to any change in its expectations or to reflect
events or circumstances after the date of this document.
Information in this document or any of the documents relating to the Placing
cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance.
Investec, who is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial
Services Authority, is advising Aurora Russia in relation to the Placing and no
one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than Aurora Russia for
providing the protections afforded to the customers of Investec nor for
providing any advice in relation to the Placing or any other matter referred to
herein.
Altium, who is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial
Services Authority, is advising Aurora Russia in relation to the Placing and no
one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than Aurora Russia for
providing the protections afforded to the customers of Altium nor for providing
any advice in relation to the Placing or any other matter referred to herein.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
MSCEAPDLAENKEEE
Aurrigo (LSE:AURR)
過去 株価チャート
から 6 2024 まで 7 2024
Aurrigo (LSE:AURR)
過去 株価チャート
から 7 2023 まで 7 2024
