X5 Retail may float online business no earlier than at 2022-end

MOSCOW, Feb 26 (PRIME) -- One of Russia’s largest retailers X5 Retail Group may float shares of its online business no earlier than at the end of 2022, Andrei Vasin, head of the company’s investor relations department, said at an online meeting on Friday.

“At the end of 2022 or in early 2023. Still, we have to look at the results of our businesses,” he said, adding that the retailer is working on the IPO in details.

“We would like to be one of the leaders of this market, and we will definitely need additional investment to achieve that, we need investment in logistics infrastructure, in IT platforms, in personnel expansion. I mean capital expenditures and operational expenditures on development of our key digital services.”

He specified three businesses – delivery service Perekrestok Vprok, aggregator Okolo, and logistics business 5Post. The company may create new online businesses later this year, he said, adding that X5 Retail Group would spin off digital businesses in 2021.

Vasin also said that X5 Retail Group had no plans for a buyback of its shares at the moment.

“We considered this issue inside X5 at the end of the previous year, we consulted the supervisory board and minority shareholders. So far, we’ve decided against launching the program, but it is an option that exists,” he said.

The company has three ways of using free funds – higher dividends, a buyback of shares, or reduction of the debt burden. The company is constantly discussing these options. So far, it has been focusing on dividends, but a buyback is always an option, he said.

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