Bakalchuk considers IPO the wrong development path for Wildberries – Kommersant

Banks periodically offer Wildberries to go public by organizing an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of its shares, reported RBC founder of Wildberries Tatyana Bakalchuk. In her opinion, an IPO would be “the wrong path of development” for the company.

“When you have a public company, what does it work for? To keep your shareholders happy. It doesn’t matter if they are big or small. You are working to ensure that the stock price does not fall, but grows. And we are working to improve the lives of millions of people. These are slightly different things,” said Ms. Bakalchuk.

She clarified that the company expects to receive the funds required for development, which Wildberries could bring from the sale of shares, in other ways. “For now, we live on our own money, plus we use borrowed funds, short-term loans from banks. In the current situation, when it is not clear what is happening with the rates, we are considering other financial instruments for ourselves,” explained Tatyana Bakalchuk.

However, she did not completely rule out the possibility of an IPO. “I can’t accurately predict if aliens will arrive next year,” Ms. Bakalchuk answered when asked about the possibility of selling the company.

In August, the founder of Wildberries headed ranking of the richest women in Russia according to Forbes. The publication estimated her capital at $7 billion. In October, the Prosecutor General’s Office started verification of Wildberries due to the introduction of commissions by the marketplace for paying for goods with Visa and Mastercard cards. The next day Wildberries canceled commissions, as well as changed about 20 standards at the request of the supervisory agency. The prosecutor’s office also initiated review of the marketplace due to its conflict with sellers.

Laura Keffer