Russian retail insurance provider Reso-Garantia has confirmed its intention to launch an initial public offering of its ordinary shares both in the Russian Federation and the US, in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act.

The initial public offering (IPO) is expected to include up to 6.2 billion ordinary shares, representing approximately 20% of Reso’s outstanding ordinary shares. At present, the shares to be offered are held by Reso Holding Limited. Under the terms, the company will not issue any new shares in connection with the offering.

According to the group, Reso is the second largest retail insurance company in Russia in terms of gross written premiums and serves more than two million clients. Its products are distributed through over 18,000 agents and more than 800 points of sale, which makes up the second largest insurance agent network in the Russian Federation.

Sergey Sarkisov, the founding shareholder and chairman of the supervisory board, commented: We are pleased to be the first Russian insurance company to offer shares to investors in a public offering. Recently the EBRD has become a strategic shareholder in Reso, which we consider to be a vote of confidence in both Reso and the Russian insurance market. We believe that the IPO will help the company in establishing a successful track record in the capital markets and supporting further profitable expansion of our business.