Russian e-commerce giant Ozon warned on Friday that it could default on its debt if its suspension from listing on the Nasdaq New York Stock Exchange extends until Tuesday inclusive. The announcement comes the day after a similar communication from the “Google Russian“, Yandex, also listed on Nasdaq and which could find itself in default of payment if its quotation does not resume on Monday.
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Ozon said a provision provided that if its Nasdaq listing was suspended for at least seven sessions, some of its bondholders were entitled to demand immediate redemption of their securities. “Ozon’s listing remains suspended“Commented to AFP a spokesman for the Nasdaq. The bonds covered by this provision are for a total amount of $750 million, which would be increased by interest, and had an initial maturity of 2026.Amazon Russianas he is often dubbed, had about 113 billion rubles in cash on Friday, he said, or some $1.08 billion at the day’s price.
However, apart from the fact that the $750 million disbursement would drain virtually all of the group’s available cash, and thus have “a significant impact on its activitiessome 80% of this cash is in Russia. Ozon warns that, due to the sanctions imposed, in particular on Russian financial institutions, and the capital control measures put in place by the Russian authorities, he may not be able to repay creditors. The group evokes the possibility of negotiating, “but there is no guarantee of success“, he concedes.
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In the absence of sufficient transfer or agreement with the creditors, the payment default would become effective at the end of May, according to the provisions agreed upon when the bonds were issued. Already listed on the Moscow Stock Exchange, Ozon made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2020, raising $ 1.2 billion in the process. I'”Amazon Russian» has, like the American giant, started at the end of the 1990s by selling books and is now part of the top three of Russian e-commerce. On Thursday, another Russian tech giant, Yandex, sometimes dubbed the “Google Russian“, had already warned of the risk of a default of payment if its quotation remained suspended Monday at Nasdaq.