Mail.ru Group's IPO Is Over $1 Billion

Russian internet company Mail.ru Group and its shareholders gained from the sale of its shares during IPO more than $ 1 billion. To overcome psychologically important level helped the organizers of IPO - Morgan Stanley and VTB Capital, which implemented the option of redistribution and additionally purchased 3,290,000 ordinary shares of Mail.ru Group for $92 million. 


Thanks to the exercise of the option the total proceeds from the placement of shares and global depositary receipts (GDR) amounted to $1.003 billion when the share of free float (free float) of Mail.ru Group has reached 18,4%, said the Internet holding. 


During the IPO Mail.ru sold 36.22 million GDR (each receipt represents 1 ordinary shares) at a price of 27.7 dollars, that is on top of the range. Company's market capitalization amounted to 5.7 billion dollars, making Mail.ru Group  the largest traded Internet company in Europe. 


Earlier Mail.ru Group reported that funds from the IPO will be partly directed to purchase additional 7.5% of the capital social network Facebook for 112.5 million dollars. As a result, the share of Mail.ru in the social network Facebook will increase to 32.49%. Moreover, the company also secured an option to buy a similar package (7.5%) over the next year. Thus, at confluence of certain circumstances in 2011 Mail.ru Group's share in the network Facebook will be communicated to 39.99%. 


The company Mail.ru Group belongs to Yuri Milner, Gregory Finger and Alisher Usmanov. Previously, the company called Digital Sky Technologies (DST), but the pre-IPO, it was renamed. Between 2005 and 2009 the company (then known as the DST) has attracted and invested over $ 1 billion in more than 30 companies. 


Mail.ru Group owns the eponymous post and entertainment portals, instant messaging services ICQ, a social network Odnoklassniki.ru. The company also owns stakes in a social network Facebook, payment system Qiwi, a discount service Groupon and producer of games for social networks Zynga.