IR magazine interviews the power company's new head of communications
DTEK, the unlisted Ukrainian energy company, considered an IPO in 2009 but in the end decided to raise capital through the bond market. It is not ruling out an equity offering in the future, however.
Alexander Tolkach, the company’s new director of external affairs, says DTEK is still open to the possibility of a flotation. ‘We cannot say an IPO is an immediate task, but the company is growing fast and has targets for the future, so naturally equity offerings to support growth could come as a choice somewhere,’ he explains.
Tolkach now plans to work on building DTEK’s international reputation, to ensure the market is prepared if the company does decide to go public. ‘It means we wouldn’t have to do any education from scratch,’ he states.
The former IRO of Russian steel and mining giant Mechel, Tolkach started his new role at DTEK on September 6. Tolkach's experience in investor relations will make him a valuable asset if his new company does decide to go public.
‘At Mechel, we built a very sophisticated IR team and we’re recognized as being one of the best – at least from what we have heard from investors,’ says ex-diplomat Tolkach.
‘My ambition is to make DTEK a Ukrainian IR best practice company and I think using my previous experience from Mechel is going to make that achievable. At Mechel we held two IPOs and one secondary public offering on the NYSE, which is a huge achievement for a Russian company.’
At DTEK, Tolkach oversees a number of different communications areas. ‘Here I have four major divisions: IR, PR, social responsibility and international affairs,’ he says. ‘I must also say the management here pays bigger attention to this range of activities [than the management at Mechel].
