LSE – Russian Gold Miner Nordgold Aims to List in $5 Billion London IPO

Russian gold miner Nord Gold UK Societas, or Nordgold, is looking to list in London as early as this summer, capitalizing on the precious metal’s long price run to become the largest mining company to float globally in at least five years, according to people familiar with the matter.

Nordgold’s initial public offering could value it at more than $5 billion and would float over 25% of the company, some of these people say. With two Canadian gold miners moving their listing to the U.K., Nordgold’s IPO is a boost for London’s financial district amid concerns that Brexit makes it less attractive.

A spokesman for the U.K.-domiciled company, which has 10 mines in Africa, Russia and Kazakhstan, said it is evaluating various strategic options, which may include an IPO on the London Stock Exchange . He declined to comment further.

The company has already hired banks to lead the IPO, according to a person familiar with the matter. Bacchus Capital is Nordgold’s financial adviser for the possible offering.

Gold has fallen 8.5% since highs last August, but the precious metal is up 57% since the summer of 2018. That long rally has been fueled by ultralow interest rates, which make gold more competitive against yield-bearing investments, and as investors looked for havens amid the spread of the coronavirus.