Sibur going for an IPO worth up to US$3 bn

Russian petrochemical company Sibur is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) potentially worth between US$2 billion and US$3 billion, said a Reuters report, adding that it may happen by the end of the year.

Sibur, the largest petrochemical producer in Eastern Europe, has long mulled a share placement on the open market but faced delays for various reasons.

According to Reuters, Sibur said that it was considering “strategic options” on how to finance its growth.

Sibur is constructing a petrochemical complex in western Siberia known as ZapSibNefteKhim, which will be one of the world’s five biggest petrochemical plants, in line with Russia’s plan to capture more value from the oil it produces.

Another of its projects, a gas chemical complex in Russia’s far east, will require preliminary investments of up to US$8 billion, with Sibur looking for Asian partners for the project.

Businessman Leonid Mikhelson, the head of and a major shareholder in Russia’s largest gas producer Novatek, owns 48.5% of Sibur while his business partner Gennady Timchenko owns 17%, and China’s Sinopec and Silk Fund control 10% each.

In 2014, the US slapped sanctions on Timchenko in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and linking him as a member of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.

(PRA)

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