Mobile operator MTS (controlled by AFK Sistema by Vladimir Yevtushenkov) announced a review of its strategy for presence in the equity capital market. As part of this process, the company “plans to assess, is the listing in the USA, taking into account the high costs of its maintenance, interests of shareholders, or more preferable would be listing on other sites ". Now American Depositary Receipts (ADR) MTS is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The company has not changed its strategy of presence on stock markets since 2000 of the year, the recent "global events" and changes in the development of MTS speak in favor of its revision, explains the mobile operator. Among the factors, who speak in favor of revision, MTS calls "a sustainable global trend in the development of local exchange platforms", "The growing role of the Moscow Exchange as a modern financial center". In this regard, MTS may increase the trading volume on the Moscow Exchange, where common shares are traded, and analyze the structure, in which it could become the main platform for the company's securities.
The company instructed the investor relations division to begin collecting opinions from institutional investors on the current distribution of MTS shares in free float.
MTS entered the New York Stock Exchange 30 June 2000 of the year, having carried out one of the first placements for Russian companies on the site. New York - the main platform for the mobile operator. Total free float at the end of the third quarter 2018 year was 915 million common shares (45,8% authorized capital), of them 8,1% ordinary shares, 37,7% — ADR (в ADR 2 ordinary shares).
After the information about a possible delisting appeared, the company's quotes immediately collapsed - first on the Moscow Exchange (minus 3,5% as of 18:05 Moscow time), а потом — на NYSE (minus 6,8%).
Following Megafon
MTS, if the company really decides to leave the NYSE, will become the second of the "big three" mobile operators, delisting from a foreign site. Last summer, Megafon's board of directors decided to leave the company from the London Stock Exchange., deciding, that maintaining public status "is not a strategic priority for the company". The company bought out through its one hundred percent daughter – Megafon Investments Limited – 57,02 million common shares and 58,3 million global depositary receipts. By October Megafon completed delisting in London.
3rd of the Big Three - Veon (Beeline brand) continues to trade on the stock exchange NASDAQ.
A source : http://www.forbes.ru/biznes/372165-mts-dopustila-delisting-s-nyu-yorkskoy-birzhi
