Miner KazakhGold seeks up to $186 mln in flotation

/REUTERS, Almaty, November 14, 05/ - KazakhGold aims to raise $149-186 million via an issue of global depositary receipts (GDR), the firm's public relations consultant Citigate said ahead of KazakhGold's roadshow starting later on Monday. "The offer price range has been set at $12-$15 per GDR representing a base deal size of $149 million to $186 million," Citigate said in a statement. "Based upon the offer price range, the expected market capitalization of KazakhGold at the commencement of conditional dealings will be in the range of $579 million to $724 million." KazakhGold, the parent company of Kazakh-based gold miner Kazakhaltyn, said last month it planned a public offering of its GDRs on the London Stock Exchange, aiming to float up to 25 percent of its charter capital. The Kazakh gold producer's production totaled 26,272 ounces last year. Kazakhaltyn has mining rights to around 27 percent of all the Central Asian state's gold reserves, the firm has said. The company plans to use the proceeds raised from the flotation to modernize its technology and boost production capacity. In the Soviet era, up to 244,000 ounces of gold were produced per year. The company is owned by the Assaubayev family and chaired by Peter Daresbury, who stepped down as chairman of Russian gold miner Highland Gold Mining in April and who is a non-executive director of Russian steelmaker Evraz. [2005-11-14]