Russia's MegaFon gets nod for $2 billion IPO - sources

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's No.2 mobile phone company, MegaFon , is likely to go ahead with its planned stock market float in London this year after receiving an unofficial green light from the UK regulator, sources familiar with the matter said.?

MegaFon had aimed to raise around $2 billion (1 billion pounds) from its initial public offering this year, but several sources have said it would have to delay the share sale until 2013 if it did not get the nod from the UK Listing Authority (UKLA) in time.

MegaFon has cleared and resolved any material issues with the UKLA, a source familiar with the situation said on Saturday. Official approval is expected when MegaFon's IPO prospectus has been completed, the source said.

?The company is expected to make a formal statement on the IPO launch in the coming weeks. The deal could happen in late November or early December, before capital markets wind down for the end of the year, sources have said.

The float by MegaFon, which is controlled by Russia's richest man Alisher Usmanov, would rank as the biggest by a Russian company since Internet search firm Yandex raised $1.4 billion when it floated in New York in May 2011.

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LISTING CRITERIA

The UKLA approves an IPO prospectus when it is satisfied a company has met its listing criteria. Among issues the UKLA typically examines is the shareholder structure. Any particular concerns are typically listed in the 'risks' section of the prospectus.

Usmanov told Reuters in September that he would fold his stake in MegaFon and other assets into a new holding company, co-owned by one of his partners Vladimir Skoch, father of billionaire Russian lawmaker Andrei Skoch, who helped build up iron ore miner Metalloinvest.?

?Goldman Sachs dropped out as an underwriter of the IPO in October, which one source familiar with the situation said at the time was over unspecified shareholding concerns that were not related to Usmanov.?

?The UKLA was now satisfied with the information provided with regard to the new holding company structure, one of the sources said.

?The UKLA gave the go-ahead for the offering on Friday, said a second source familiar with the situation, meaning the float can happen this year. A third market source also said the IPO had received the green light but gave no more details.?

?A fourth source familiar with the matter said work still remained to be done on the prospectus, indicating a final sign off may not yet have been received.

?"We intend to complete the IPO this year and that will be on the basis of an approved prospectus from the UKLA," said a spokesman for MegaFon. He declined to comment further.?

?A spokesman for the UKLA declined comment.?

MegaFon announced plans for the offering in early October but later said it would put off launching the roadshow until it had published its third-quarter results.

Those results, released on Thursday showed gains in revenues, earnings and margins that analysts said would boost MegaFon's goal of achieving a valuation comparable with its competitors, MTS and VimpelCom .

Sources have said a stake of around 15 percent in MegaFon could be offered to investors in London and Moscow, with Nordic telecoms firm Teliasonera selling down its stake.

MegaFon also plans to pay down some of the debts it took in on in a restructuring deal in April that saw tycoon Mikhail Fridman exit the business and Usmanov secure overall control.

(Reporting by Megan Davies; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Sophie Hares)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russias-megafon-gets-nod-2-billion-london-ipo-191841210--finance.html

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Chloroplast breakthrough could help unlock key to controlling fruit ripening in crops, research suggests

ScienceDaily (Nov. 1, 2012) ? Biologists may have unearthed the potential to manipulate the functions of chloroplasts, the parts of plant cells responsible for photosynthesis.

Researchers in the University of Leicester's Department of Biology discovered that chloroplasts are affected by the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) -- a process which causes the breakdown of unwanted proteins in cells, previously thought to only act on central parts of the cell.

As a result, the researchers believe they may be able to use specific proteins to regulate the functions of chloroplasts -- such as the conversion of chloroplasts into highly-pigmented chromoplasts during the ripening of fruit.

Their paper, Chloroplast Biogenesis is Regulated by Direct Action of the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System, is due to be published in the journal Science on? November 2.

The paper identifies a gene (SP1) in the nuclei of plant cells that codes for a protein called a ubiquitin E3 ligase which is able to regulate chloroplast development through the UPS process.

The team are already investigating the potential for harnessing the SP1 gene in crop plants, for example to affect the ripening of fruits such as tomatoes, bell peppers and citrus.

The University's Enterprise & Business Development Office has filed a patent application with a view to developing practical applications for the research.

Professor Paul Jarvis, of the University's Department of Biology, has led the project since its inception in 2000.

He said: "Our work shows that the UPS also acts on subcellular compartments in plant cells called chloroplasts, which are responsible for the light-driven reactions of photosynthesis that power almost all life on Earth.

"Identification of this previously-unsuspected link between the UPS and chloroplasts constitutes a major breakthrough in biology, and may enable the manipulation of chloroplast functions in crops.

"It is incredible to get to this point -- it has been a long journey. We have known for some time that this was going to be a big breakthrough."

The research has been funded by grants from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

Professor Douglas Kell, Chief Executive of BBSRC, said: "To ensure that we have enough healthy, sustainable food for a growing population, we need to find a range of novel solutions to challenges such as improving crop yields and reducing food waste. This research highlights one of the many ways in which science can help.

"The ripening process can happen quickly, and it can take just a few days for a fruit or vegetable to be considered inedible. This unavoidable process means big losses to both farmers and consumers. This discovery brings us one step closer to greater control over ripening so that we have greater flexibility for farmers when supplying produces in the best condition."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Leicester, via AlphaGalileo.

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Journal Reference:

1. Q. Ling, W. Huang, A. Baldwin, P. Jarvis. Chloroplast Biogenesis Is Regulated by Direct Action of the Ubiquitin-Proteasome System. Science, 2012; 338 (6107): 655 DOI: 10.1126/science.1225053

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Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/bysGhSnavdE/121101141038.htm

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