Russian e-scooter firm Whoosh raises $33 mln in Moscow IPO

The placement at 185 roubles per share gives Whoosh a market capitalisation of 20.6 billion roubles ($326 million), the firm said in a statement, below its initial target of around $400 million. Whoosh said existing shareholders had provided shares worth 200 million roubles for possible stabilisation in the secondary market, taking the IPO's total volume to 2.3 billion roubles.

Russia's Whoosh raised 2.1 billion roubles ($33.23 million) in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Moscow Exchange, the electric scooter company said on Wednesday, pricing at the lower end of its initial price range.

Corporate Russia is watching Whoosh's listing closely as the company braves Russian economic isolation with Moscow's first IPO since the country sent troops into Ukraine. The placement at 185 roubles per share gives Whoosh a market capitalisation of 20.6 billion roubles ($326 million), the firm said in a statement, below its initial target of around $400 million.

Whoosh said existing shareholders had provided shares worth 200 million roubles for possible stabilisation in the secondary market, taking the IPO's total volume to 2.3 billion roubles. While breathing life into a moribund market, Whoosh's debut also reflects the small volumes and dependency on retail investors which are likely to characterise stock market listings in a Russian market devoid of Western capital.

"In addition to institutional investors, more than 20,000 private investors became our shareholders following the IPO, which underlines the level of trust in our company and its ambitious goals," CEO Dmitry Chuyko said. ($1 = 63.2000 roubles)