Georgian Railway LSE IPO Postponed

Georgia has postponed initial public offering of up to 25% of shares of the state-owned railway monopoly on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

“The Government of Georgia has decided to postpone the IPO of JSC Georgian Railway at this time due to the current challenging capital market conditions,” the Georgian Railway said in a brief statement distributed on May 24, reads.

MP Nika Gilauri said at a government session on May 24: “We have decided to postpone IPO for the time when situation improves on the stock markets."

Last week the Georgian Railway set a price range for planned IPO and the state-owned JSC Partnership Fund, which was acting as a selling shareholder, announced on May 16 that it was expecting to raise between USD 200 million and USD 250 million as a result of IPO originally planned for May 24.

Britain’s FTSE-100 index of blue chip stocks has fallen around 3% since the Georgian Railway set its price range last week, according to Reuters.

Reuters reported quoting a source close to the deal, that there was good interest in the stock, with several strategic investors putting in orders, including one committing USD 80 million, but it had not been enough to fill the order books by the time they closed on May 23.