The Russia-China Investment Fund (RCIF), established by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the China Investment Corporation (CIC), has sold a portion of its stake and played a significant role in the initial public offering (IPO) of Detsky Mir, a children’s goods retailer in Russia.
This IPO is the first exit from an investment for RCIF.
RCIF supported the company’s growth leading up to the IPO and contributed to enlarging its shareholder base. RDIF also attracted its international partners to the transaction, including leading Middle Eastern, European, Asian and US investment funds.
As a result of the deal, RCIF has sold part of its shareholding in Detsky Mir. Through the sale stake, RCIF has achieved a significant exit yield on an investment and has contributed to the increased liquidity of Detsky Mir’s shares for new shareholders.
RCIF will remain the second largest shareholder in Detsky Mir. The fund will continue supporting Detsky Mir in leveraging new business opportunities, including internationally.
Kirill Dmitriev, co-CEO of RCIF and CEO of RDIF, says: “The IPO of Detsky Mir marks a landmark transaction for the Russian market. The deal was made possible largely due to the active work of the company’s shareholders, including the arrival of RCIF as a pre-IPO investor in the company a year earlier. Detsky Mir is an example of the fast-growing Russian company, which demonstrates impressive results and its growth will accelerate alongside the resumption of growth in the Russian economy. Despite a challenging macroeconomic situation, Detsky Mir has managed to achieve an EBITDA growth of more than 50 per cent in the nine months of the last year. The success of this deal confirms strong demand from international investors for public placements of top quality Russian companies. It has also opened the door for other Russian issuers looking at public markets.”
Hu Bing, co-CEO of RCIF, says: “RCIF remains the largest minority shareholder of Detsky Mir, whose IPO was an important event for the Russian equity market and revealed the high interest of foreign investors in Russian assets. The investment in Detsky Mir is also an important success story for Chinese investors working in Russia and interested in investments in the country. We intend to further implement successful projects and investment in Russia.”
