Air Astana Group announces successful completion of IPO

15.02.24 11:30
/KASE, February 15, 2024/ – Air Astana JSC (Almaty), whose shares are officially listed on Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), has provided KASE with the following press release dated February 15, 2024: quote - Air Astana Group is the first Kazakh business to list domestically and internationally simultaneously on three exchanges - IPO raises c. USD 370 million (assuming full exercise of the over-allotment option) - Local investors received 58% of offering - 97.8% of orders from retail investors were allocated in full Almaty, Kazakhstan – Air Astana Group ("the Group"), the largest airline group in Central Asia and the Caucasus regions by revenue and fleet size, announces today's completion of its initial public offering, the most substantial privatisation in the Republic of Kazakhstan to date with majority participation by local investors. This is the first IPO achieved simultaneously on three stock exchanges: the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, Astana International Exchange and London Stock Exchange. The total deal size for the IPO was c. USD 370 million (assuming full exercise of the over-allotment option), valuing the Group at c. USD 847 million. The IPO of the Group was oversubscribed through support by local Kazakh investors, both retail and institutional, in addition to the international investor community. Local investors received 58% of the offering with international investors receiving 42%. Total demand on local market exceeded USD 483 mln. Retail investors submitted c.60k* orders in the Air Astana IPO for c. USD 216 million. Retail investors received c.53% of their total demand. Kazakh institutional investors (including pension fund) received c.38% of their total demand and international investors received c.25% of their total demand in the offering. To ensure equitable treatment and in line with other international offerings, retail investors' orders $30k** or below were allocated in full, with pro-rata allocation for the remainder of the demand based on the residual amount over $30k. As a result, 97.8% of orders from retail investors were allocated in full. As part of the IPO, the Group raised USD 120 million primary proceeds to accelerate the next stage of its growth. Existing shareholders Samruk-Kazyna Joint Stock Company, the Sovereign Wealth Fund of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and BAE Systems (Kazakhstan) Limited both sold Shares (or GDRs representing Shares), reducing their shareholdings to 41.0% and, assuming the over-allotment option is exercised in full, 15.3% respectively. * Orders with price KZT 1073.83 or above for shares and $9.5 or above for GDRs. ** $30k for GDRs, KZT 13.5 mln for shares. unquote The complete press release is available on: - https://kase.kz/files/emitters/AIRA/aira_completion_ipo.pdf – in Russian; - https://kase.kz/files/emitters/AIRA/aira_completion_ipo_en.pdf – in English. [2024-02-15]