Ukraine's Intermedia eyes $500 mln-plus London IPO

By Daisy Ku

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - U.A. Inter Media Group, Ukraine's top media firm, plans to raise more than $500 million in what would be the country's biggest IPO, surpassing Ferrexpo's (FXPO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) $426 million London offering. "We will finalise our London main market listing plan after picking underwriters in September. We aim to list in 2009," Vice President Yaroslav Porokhnyak told Reuters after attending the Adam Smith Institute's Ukrainian Investment Summit in London.

He expects the firm's advertising revenues to grow 30 percent a year in 2008 and 2009, after a 27 percent increase last year.

The media firm, which plans to use the funds raised to invest in new media, as well as buying local television stations, has appointed investment bank Dragon Capital to advise it on the planned IPO and Ernst & Young to audit its accounts.

Driven by global pricing on raw materials, Ukrainian economy grew 7.3 percent in 2007. Despite the increasing likelihood of a global recession, investment firm Renaissance Capital expects Ukraine's economy to grow 6.9 percent in 2008. The share of exports in GDP has fallen to around 44 percent in 2007 from over 51 percent in 2005.

As personal incomes rise, the country's retail sales are expect to grow 26 percent this year, according to BNP Paribas, in line with a 28.8 percent growth in 2007.

Considered as the most successful Ukrainian share sale so far, Iron ore miner Ferrexpo shares have surged 138 percent from their IPO prices of 140p each since their London market debut in June last year.

Ernst & Young associate director Oleksandra Dubovyk expects some 80 Ukrainian firms to raise funds via initial public offerings in the next two to three years.

Ukrainian bank Finance & Credit said in January it wanted to sell 25 percent of its share capital in a London AIM listing. Fuel retailer Galnaftogaz also said last month it eyed an IPO in 2009.