Investor: DR News
By Gordon Platt
The largest Russia-based manufacturer of steel pipes for the oil and gas industry, TMK, upgraded its over-the-counter American depositary receipt (ADR) program to the OTCQX International premier platform. It is the third Russian company to be listed on the platform. TMK entered the US steel market in 2008 with its acquisition of Ipsco Tubulars and NS Group. It also has production sites in Romania and Kazakhstan. TMK’s global depositary receipts (GDRs) trade on the London Stock Exchange.
The company selected BNY Mellon as the depositary bank and principal American liaison (PAL) for its sponsored ADR program. OTCQX gives non-US companies already listed on a qualified exchange in their home country a visible cross-listing in the OTC market to access US investors, without the duplicative regulatory costs of listing on a traditional US exchange.
In other DR news, Deutsche Bank was named the depositary bank for the sponsored Regulation S and Rule 144A GDR program of Brazil-based GP Investments, the first private equity firm to go public in Latin America. Since 1993, GP has raised about $5 billion from private equity investors and completed 48 investments. Its Brazilian DRs (BDRs) are listed on the BM&FBovespa; exchange.
Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan established a sponsored GDR in the OTC market for Egypt-based Remco Tourism Villages Construction. The company’s resort projects generally include hotels, commercial spaces and residential complexes. Its common shares have been traded on the Egyptian Stock Exchange since 1998.