Don Agro International seeks to raise S$5.1m in Catalist IPO

DON Agro International on Thursday announced it has launched its initial public offering (IPO), and is aiming to raise about S$5.1 million for its Catalist listing on the Singapore Exchange.

The offering is by placement only - the Russia-based agricultural company is offering 23 million new placement shares priced at S$0.22 per share. Trading of its shares on Catalist is expected to commence on Feb 14. 

Based on the placement price and post-placement share capital of about 150.27 million shares, the group's market capitalisation would be about S$33.1 million.

Its executive chairman, Evgeny Tugolukov, said the listing not only provides Don Agro with a gateway to tap the capital markets, but also "an enhanced platform" for business opportunities and strategic partnerships in Singapore and the region.

Don Agro farms commercial crops like winter wheat, sunflower, sorghum, corn and flax. It also owns about 4,201 heads of dairy cattle, including 2,073 milking cows.

Russia's Molvest Group is the biggest buyer of milk from Don Agro. Its largest crop customers include Bunge, Aston JSC and Grain Service.

Don Agro plans to use the IPO proceeds to buy more arable land in Rostov, acquire new equipment and upgrade existing machinery. 

The group said it is also exploring opportunities in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances with both domestic and foreign companies.