Russian OS producer Astra Linux plans Moscow IPO -Vedomosti

[July 08, 2022]  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian technology company Astra Linux is planning to hold an initial public offering (IPO) on the Moscow Exchange, the Vedomosti daily reported late on Thursday, quoting CEO Ilya Sivtsev, who declined to disclose a time frame, sums or terms.

IPO activity gained pace in Russia in 2021 and at least 10 firms had been planning listings in 2022 before Feb. 24 when Moscow sent troops into Ukraine, triggering Western sanctions that have hurt Russia's financial sector.

Vedomosti quoted Finam analyst Leonid Delitsyn as saying that Astra's preliminary valuation could be around 17 billion roubles ($274 million).

Raiffeisenbank analyst Sergei Libin estimated Astra's valuation at 10-15 billion roubles.

An exodus of Western firms and companies shunning Russia generally has put particular pressure on imports, and the government has acknowledged the need to improve the country's domestic IT production.

"Our mission is to ensure Russia's technological sovereignty and leadership in the global IT industry by means of creating core technologies, as well as special and custom software," Astra Linux says on its website.

($1 = 62.1000 roubles)

(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Jason Neely)

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