Support The Moscow Times!

Credit Bank of Moscow Mulls Sales

Midsized lender Credit Bank of Moscow is considering selling a minority stake to an investor outside Russia, the lender said in a prospectus to a eurobond issue, obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.

CBM, ranked among Russia's top 30 lenders by assets, is owned by businessman Roman Avdeyev.

"Mr. Roman Avdeyev is currently in negotiations with several strategic investors based outside of Russia regarding a potential sale of a minority shareholding in the bank's equity capital," the document said.

Avdeyev said CBM is in talks with the International Finance Corporation, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, but "the list is not consisting only of them."

"We are talking about a 10 percent stake sale," he said, adding that no agreements have been reached yet.

A banking source said earlier Tuesday that CBM has mandated Raiffeisen Bank International to arrange a series of meetings ahead of a possible eurobond issue.

The meetings are due to start Wednesday in Europe, he added.

Russian borrowers have raised more than $19 billion via eurobond issues since the start of the year, more than half the amount raised in 2010 as a whole.

Steel company Severstal reopened the books for a possible benchmark eurobond issue on Tuesday, after postponing the placement last week due to poor market conditions along with state development bank Vneshekonombank.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more