On February 14, the results of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Air Astana shares were announced. The IPO, which ran from January 29, 2023, to February 8, 2024, saw applications for the purchase of Air Astana shares amounting to KZT 220.9bn ($493.5mn). The company raised approximately $370mn during the IPO process across three exchanges - the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), the Astana International Exchange (AIX), and the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
Approximately 60,000 applications, valued at over KZT 98bn (nearly $219mn), were received from retail investors. Consequently, the volume of fulfilled applications totalled KZT 97.2bn, equivalent to $215mn.
Farhad Okhonov, Chairman of the Board of Halyk Finance, commented on the transaction, noting the qualitative development of the investor base in Kazakhstan. He highlighted that the total demand collected in Kazakhstan, as well as the total retail demand, surpassed similar indicators in the IPO of KazMunayGas.
During allocation, priority was given to Kazakh retail investors, with their demand being satisfied by more than half. Kazakh institutional investors and international investors received about 38% and 25% of the requested volumes, respectively. Applications up to $30,000 or up to KZT 13.5mn ($30,156) were satisfied in full, allowing for the full allocation of 98% of applications from retail investors.
As part of the IPO, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) purchased Air Astana shares worth nearly $42mn, becoming the owner of a 5% stake in the airline’s authorized capital.
The share price at the IPO was set at KZT 1073.83 ($2.4) per share, and the Global Depositary Receipt (GDR) per share was priced at $9.5. Before the IPO, 51% of the company’s shares were owned by the state, represented by the National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna, and 49% by BAE Systems (Kazakhstan) Limited, a subsidiary of the British BAE Systems plc. The shareholders sold part of their shares during the IPO, reducing their stakes to 41.0% and 15.3%, respectively.
In 2023, Air Astana was recognized for the eleventh time as the “Best Airline in Central Asia and the CIS” by the Skytrax World Airline Awards and received a five-star rating in the category of the largest airlines from the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX).
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