The crisis is not a hindrance

Sberbank shareholders did not refuse to buy back shares from the additional issue

The collapse in the stock market, which coincided with the payment of applications for Sberbank shares , did not prevent him from raising capital. President and Chairman of the Board of the Bank Andrei Kazmin reported last week that during the placement by preemptive right, Sberbank shareholders paid 99% of applications for 146.3 billion rubles. Analysts expect that at the second stage, when the shares will be paid for by other investors, there will be more refusals from previously submitted applications than among the bank’s shareholders. But not by much, if the price of securities on the stock exchange remains higher than recommended during the placement.

As you know, Sberbank planned to place 3.5 million shares at a price of 89 thousand rubles. per share, of which 1.643 million have already been purchased by current shareholders, Mr. Kazmin said. Accordingly, the bank has already attracted 146.3 billion rubles. The main shareholder of Sberbank - the Central Bank - acquired 54.3% of this amount, i.e. 892 thousand 601 shares worth 79.4 billion rubles.

“At the moment, the placement is successful, since 99% of applications from holders with a preemptive right to purchase shares have been paid,” says Natalia Orlova, chief economist at Alfa Bank. Thus, the strong decline in stock exchange quotes on March 5 did not hinder Sberbank, despite the fall in the price of its shares below the placement price of 89 thousand rubles. (after all, in this case, investors can buy securities cheaper on the market). The minimum price per share then reached just over 85 thousand rubles, however, by the end of the same day it again became higher than that recommended by the supervisory board. Analysts noted that the stock failure would not greatly affect the course of the first stage of the placement due to the specific nature of the investors taking part in it. For Sberbank shareholders who paid for applications these days, it was important to maintain their share, and buyers such as, for example, investment funds, are more likely to focus on target indicators of securities rather than short-term changes in exchange rates.

Now, from March 8 to March 21, Sberbank shares must be paid for by other investors who do not have preferential rights. Based on the expectations of the supervisory board of Sberbank (according to its calculations, the cut-off price corresponded to applications for 250 billion rubles), during the second stage it is expected to attract more than 100 billion rubles. At the first stage, Sberbank satisfied 1,332 applications from shareholders, of which 82.3% came from private shareholders. The most labor-intensive part lies ahead - processing the remaining 47,865 applications (previously, Mr. Kazmin noted that a total of 49,197 applications were submitted). And while non-shareholder investors may have more reasons not to pay for shares, analysts don't expect widespread refusals. “If during this period Sberbank’s quotes remain above the level of 89 thousand rubles, in our opinion, the number of participants who will not pay for submitted applications will be minimal,” says Brokercreditservice analyst Denis Mukhin. Now the securities are trading at a premium to the recommended price, having risen in price, including after the announcement of a successful placement among shareholders. According to the results of trading on Friday on the MICEX stock exchange, the price of an ordinary share of Sberbank reached 92.5 thousand rubles, on the RTS exchange - $3,565.

First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank Alla Aleshkina in an interview with Prime-TASS noted that after placing the additional issue, Sberbank will additionally receive more than 47 thousand shareholders, of which 46 thousand will be private individuals. Before this, the total number of shareholders, including owners of preferred shares, was 220 thousand. “Based on the calculation of ordinary shares, the share of the Bank of Russia after the completion of the issue will decrease from 63.8 to 59.8%, the share of legal entities will increase from 33.2 to 36.2%, individuals - from 3 to 3.7%,” suggested Ms. Aleshkina, noting that applications for Sberbank shares “were submitted by all world funds, including, for example, from Singapore, which entering the Russian market for the first time.” For the sake of new and old shareholders, Sberbank has expanded interaction with investors - for example, it will begin to publish quarterly reports according to international standards and announce development plans. Ms. Aleshkina promised that already this year the bank’s board will raise the issue of splitting shares with the supervisory board. If supported, the splitting procedure will be considered at a shareholders meeting this year.

Elena KHUTORNYKH