Russian discount e-commerce company Fix Price raises $2 billion to go public in London

Raising $2 billion, the largest IPO ever for a Russian retailer

It is reported that the final issue price of Fix Price's IPO is US$9.75 per global depositary receipt (GDR), and it is expected to raise US$2 billion.

The Fix Price listing is the largest IPO ever for a Russian retailer and the largest international IPO on the London Stock Exchange since 2017.

"We are pleased to see strong interest from global investors, including from a number of blue-chip stocks, which has enabled us to increase the size of the offering," Chief Executive Dmitry Kirsanov said in a statement.

Boris Kvasov , co-head of equity capital markets at VTB Capital, said that investors are optimistic about Fix Price's business model and growth prospects. At the same time, a highlight of the deal is the increase in investment from the United States. American investors accounted for about 40% of the IPO, British investors accounted for one-third, and Russian investors accounted for more than 10%.

Captured 90% of Russia's discount retail market, with sales growth for 16 consecutive quarters

Fix Price was founded in 2007 and focuses on the discount retail market. Fix Price has offline chain stores and its own online official website. So far, it has more than 4,200 offline chain stores in Russia.

Since its establishment, Fix Price has grown rapidly and calls itself "the fastest growing discount retailer in the world." As a pioneer in Russian discount retail, Fix Price has become a leading company in the local market. According to a 2019 report, Fix Price holds more than 90% of the Russian discount retail market.

Fix Price offers a very wide range of products , basically covering all aspects of daily life. The prices are relatively low and stable, with the highest product price being 250 rubles (about 22 yuan).

As the pandemic spreads, Russians' incomes have decreased and consumption has been downgraded, and Fix Price has ushered in its "golden age". Data shows that Fix Price's revenue in 2020 was 191 billion rubles (about 16.64 billion yuan) and its profit reached 17.2 billion rubles (about 1.5 billion yuan). In addition, the company has achieved sales growth for 16 consecutive quarters.

Russia