Power Machines Group placed 1.2 billion shares (17% of the share capital) in the company for USc 3.624 per share in a secondary private offering to a group of portfolio investors in Russia and Western Europe.

The placing was led by HSBC and raised US$44 million in one of the largest equity market transactions in Russia this year. Against a background of market volatility, Power Machines' management road show was well received by institutional investors in the UK, Russia, France, Holland and Sweden and the placement was fully subscribed.
 
Pavel Skitovich, Deputy General Director for strategy and corporate affairs at Power Machines said, “The placing is a step towards implementation of our strategy - moving from the private company to public. The management of the Group intends to follow international standards in the field of corporate management and to promote investment appeal to investors”.

Russell Julius, Global Head of Equity Capital Markets at HSBC said, "Power Machines is a strong restructuring story in an industry where Russian companies have competed on a global scale. The company's strong fundamentals and attractive valuation appealed to investors."

The shares of Power Machines were admitted to the "classic market" category of the RTS (Russian Trading System) in October 2003 (Bloomberg: SILM$ RU).
HSBC acted as lead placing agent and sole bookrunner in the transaction. With over 9,500 offices in 79 countries and territories, and assets of US$983 billion at 30 June 2003, the HSBC Group is the one of the world's largest banking and financial services organizations.