Positive Technologies Announces Impact of US Sanctions on IPO Plans

Positive Technologies, a cybersecurity company, plans to shorten the time it takes to place shares on the stock exchange in connection with the introduction of US sanctions against it . This was stated in an interview with RBC by its CEO Yuri Maksimov. He did not name specific terms of placement, but specified that in a month or two "the panic will go away" and "the professional community will understand how the company will develop further."

In mid-March, Kommersant, citing sources, announced that Positive Technologies plans to conduct an IPO on the Moscow Exchange, placing up to 10% of its shares. The volume of placement can be up to $200-300 million if the company's value reaches $2-4 billion by the end of 2021, the newspaper wrote. According to the TELEGRAM channel SecAtor, Positive Technologies estimates itself at $1 billion, while FORBES gave a figure of $580 million.

Maksimov clarified that an IPO is one of the possible instruments for a company to become public. He himself considers direct listing as a more likely option, when the company's shareholders can start trading on the stock exchange. “A classic IPO involves a massive sale, and more focused on funds,” but the goal of taking Positive Technologies public is not to attract investment, but to find co-owners who can bring “advice, examples, awareness” to the business. In particular, the company expects that the buyers of shares will be IT specialists. At the same time, according to Maksimov, now there is a bargaining between the shareholders of the company about who and in what volume will allocate shares to present them to the market,