Report: Russian IT firm IBS said considering IPO in 2018

MOSCOW, Dec 21 (PRIME) -- Russian information technology services company IBS could hold an initial public offering (IPO) in 2018, Reuters reported late on Wednesday, citing two financial market sources and a source familiar with the company’s plans.

IBS, which provides services ranging from designing IT infrastructure to systems integration and information security, has yet to decide on the size of the offering and hire banks to handle the deal, the sources said.

IBS declined to comment on specific plans.

“The company is considering various options for business development and the full range of available instruments to fund growth,” it said in emailed comments citing Yevgeny Peskin, the deputy chief executive for strategy.

IBS’s co-owner and founder Anatoly Karachinsky was quoted by Russian media outlet RNS as saying in June IBS could hold an IPO within two years on the Moscow Exchange.

Founded in 1992, IBS is one of Russia’s biggest IT services companies. Its clients include some of the local biggest companies and government institutions, including oil major Rosneft, lender Sberbank, and the Finance Ministry.

The company delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2014, having spun off the Luxoft unit which floated on NYSE in 2013.

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