Russia's Arifmetika Financial Solutions, which provides small loans to individuals, plans to start trading in Canada in early 2022 and aims to raise about $100 million from a listing in Toronto.
Arifmetika plans to list on the TSX Venture Exchange through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) equivalent capital pool company (CPC) called “Navigator Acquisition Corp.” (NAQ-P.V).
Arifmetika is expected to be valued at $100 million to $140 million after a funding round in the first half of 2022. The technical share offering requires less onerous regulatory compliance than a traditional initial public offering (IPO).
IPO activity has gathered steam in Russia as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and global stock markets surge, driven in part by retail investors.
SPACs are shell companies that raise funds to acquire a private company and take it public without requiring a formal IPO.
Founded in 2010, Arifmetika had 2021 revenues of $30 million.
