The Change Mariner

Ikrut, Russian Military Plane Maker, Goes Public

New York Times:

In another sign of just how far Russia has changed, Irkut, a formerly secret maker of military airplanes that had spent decades helping the Soviet Union defend itself against the capitalist West, has turned to the stock market to raise cash to buy other companies and develop new planes.

With its initial public offering last week, it became the first Russian military company to sell shares on the stock market. The shares - representing 20 percent of the company, and worth about $100 million - trade in Moscow now, where they closed Wednesday at 76 United States cents each, up 17 percent from their first day of trading last Thursday. By the end of the year, the company says, it intends to tap the richer capital markets of London and New York.