$1.5 Billion I.P.O. for Firm Controlled by Putin Ally Tied to Manafort<br />The offering may draw attention for using the London Stock Exchange, where listing rules are less stringent than in New York, for a transaction<br />that had the effect of funneling money to a Russian state bank that has faced sanctions in both the United States and the European Union, even though EN+ has not faced sanctions.<br />Though more money and more deals have been raised on the London Stock Exchange so far this year compared to all of last year — $5.9 billion has been raised in 25 transactions for the year to date —<br />that remains far below the levels set in 2013 through 2015, according to data from Thomson Reuters.<br />3, 2017<br />The Russian energy and aluminum company EN+, which is controlled by a member of President Vladimir V. Putin’s circle of favored businessmen, said on Friday<br />that it had raised $1.5 billion in an initial public offering seen as a major test of investors’ appetite for Russian assets.<br />The company is controlled by the Russian oligarch Oleg V. Deripaska, a confidant of the Russian president who once had close ties to Paul J. Manafort, the former Trump<br />campaign manager who was charged this week with money laundering as part of the special counsel inquiry into potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.<br />" Maxim Sokov, the chief executive of EN+, said in a news release.<br />that We are very pleased with the level of interest and support for our offering that we have received from the global investor community, and I am delighted to welcome all new shareholders onto En+ Group’s register,<br />During the presidential campaign last year, Mr. Manafort had asked, through an intermediary, whether Mr. Deripaska might resolve a financial dispute<br />in exchange for "private briefings" about the Republican Party presidential campaign, The Washington Post has reported, citing email exchanges.
