Medscan Prepares for Stock Market Debut No Earlier Than 2026
Rosatom, the state atomic energy corporation, is initiating preparations for the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of ten of its controlled companies, including Medscan Group, a prominent player in the private healthcare market. This public offering is not anticipated to occur before 2026. Medscan had initially intended its debut on the Moscow Exchange in 2024 but deferred it due to an unfavorable market climate. Evgeny Tugolukov, Medscan`s founder and co-owner, believes the company should benchmark itself against IT holdings, which have garnered high valuations from investors, when considering its market entry.
Medscan Group continues its IPO preparations, which were first reported by the media in mid-2024. Ilya Rebrov, Deputy General Director of Rosatom, which holds a 50% stake in the group, confirmed this development. As reported by Mr. Rebrov to the industry publication «Strana Rosatom,» Medscan, along with nine other companies, has been chosen by the state corporation for IPO preparation «in 2026 and beyond.» While Rebrov did not disclose the names of the other assets Rosatom is readying for public offering, he specified that they operate in the sectors of composite materials, information technologies, and gold mining.
Medscan Group stated that they are considering an IPO as it represents a «logical stage in the development of their platform business model, which integrates offline clinics, laboratory operations, and IT infrastructure.»
Stanislav Blagin, the group`s Director for Investor Relations and Strategy, highlighted that Medscan has already issued digital financial assets and bonds on the market. In an interview with RBC in July, Medscan`s founder, Evgeny Tugolukov, indicated that the IPO format might involve an additional issuance of 10-15% of shares.
AO Medscan is equally owned, with 50% belonging to Evgeny Tugolukov and the other 50% to Rosatom`s subsidiary, AO Rosatom Technologies of Health. The group operates across 31 regions in Russia. Its extensive network includes 65 medical centers, 15 laboratories, and 452 laboratory offices, among them facilities operating under the KDL brand. By the end of 2024, the group`s total revenue saw a 25% year-on-year increase, reaching 28 billion rubles. Concurrently, its net loss decreased by 7% year-on-year, amounting to 1.2 billion rubles.
Mr. Rebrov noted that, according to analysts` forecasts, a market debut for companies would be ill-advised until the end of 2025 due to the Central Bank`s relatively stringent monetary policy. However, Rosatom anticipates that by that time, this policy will ease, thereby creating a «favorable environment for initial public offerings.»
In July 2024, «Vedomosti» reported that Medscan was in an advanced state of readiness for an IPO, and the transaction could have been completed by the end of the previous year. At that time, the Central Bank`s key rate stood at 16% per annum.
However, at the regulator`s subsequent board meeting, the rate was increased to 18% per annum, and by autumn, it climbed by another 3 percentage points, reaching 21%. The Central Bank only began reducing the rate in the summer of 2025: to 20% per annum in June and 18% in July.
Alexander Zaitsev, CEO of investment company Atomic Capital, suggests that this monetary situation is not conducive to capital inflow into the stock market, which is why businesses, including Medscan, are in no hurry to go public. According to him, the most intriguing aspect of this offering will be the valuation multiples applied.
Regarding business valuation, Evgeny Tugolukov noted that the relevant benchmark for Medscan is digital companies, such as Astra Group and Diasoft.
«The desire to identify the business as IT is likely linked to the preferential treatment enjoyed by issuers in this segment during initial public offerings,» observes Mr. Zaitsev. «Fast-growing IT companies typically have a higher EV/EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) ratio than medical companies.»
For comparison: Diasoft`s EV/EBITDA for 2024 was 15.0x, whereas MD Medical Group (which manages the «Mother and Child» clinic network) had 5.76x. This suggests that if Medscan is valued using IT company multiples, its listing price would be higher than if it were compared to similar medical sector issuers. However, the expert concludes that it`s not guaranteed investors will assign a high valuation to the company`s business.
