Renaissance Capital (Russian company)

Renaissance Capital is an emerging and frontier markets focused investment bank founded in 1995 in Russia. The firm has offices in Moscow, London, New York, Lagos, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Cairo and Nicosia.
Since 2012, Renaissance Capital has been part of ONEXIM Group, one of the largest private investment holding companies in Russia, owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.
Renaissance Capital offers investment banking services in debt and equity capital markets, M&A, equity and equity derivatives, fixed income, FX and FX derivatives, commodities products, prime brokerage, research, as well as REPO and financing.
As of 31 December 2020, the Firm’s total assets and equity amounted to $3.7bn and $465mn, respectively, and reported FY20 net profit was $28.4mn.
History.
Renaissance Capital was established in 1995 by a group of founding partners, including Stephen Jennings, Boris Jordan, Leonid Rozhetskin, Anton Kudryashov and Richard Deitz.
On September 22, 2008, ONEXIM Group and Renaissance entered into a strategic partnership whereby ONEXIM Group purchased a 50% (minus one share) stake in Renaissance Capital for $500 million following the issuance of new equity, commenting that the acquisition “presents the opportunity to take Renaissance Capital to the next level”.
In 2010, Renaissance Capital paid 207 million rand ($27 million) to acquire Barnard Jacobs Mellet Securities Ltd., the South African stock brokerage.
In November 2012, ONEXIM Group acquired further stakes in Renaissance Capital which resulted a full ownership of the investment bank and indirect ownership of an 89% stake in the consumer finance bank Renaissance Credit. 
Commenting on the deal, Dmitry Razumov, chief executive officer of ONEXIM Group, said “We strongly believe in the strategy of Renaissance Capital and that the financial resources of ONEXIM will only strengthen the unique position of the bank in the markets in which it operates.”
The transaction was completed in April 2013, following the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals.
Renaissance Capital opened an office in Dubai in February 2014, and launched trading in the Middle East markets, including UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman and Tunisia.
Renaissance Capital has been active in Africa for several years. The firm established a presence on the continent in 2007 with locations in Lagos and Nairobi and opened offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Cairo in 2010, 2015 and 2017 respectively. In March 2015, Renaissance Capital doubled its net profit from core business for the full year 2014, reporting a total operating income of $250 million.
In April 2017, Renaissance Capital announced the upcoming opening of its Cairo office, focusing on investment banking, financing and research, and received its licence to operate in the country later that year.
In July 2019, Renaissance Capital became a trading member of Astana International Exchange (AIX) in Kazakhstan.
Management.
Since April 2017, Renaissance Capital has been led by co-CEOs Ruslan Babaev and Anna Vyshlova, who oversee strategy and the day-to-day operations of the firm. Both Ruslan Babaev and Anna Vyshlova had previously served in management positions at the firm.
Dmitry Razumov is chairman of Renaissance Capital's board of directors, providing oversight and guidance on its strategic development and international expansion and managing the firm's relationships with key clients and stakeholders in all of the firm's markets.
Anthony Simone, Renaissance Capital's president, focuses on the firm's international offices and institutional client coverage, as well as regulatory, governance and other corporate matters.
Elena Grishina is Renaissance Capital's CFO. Within this role, she is responsible for Renaissance Capital's financing activities and investor relations.
Amr Helal is CEO for North Africa. He has been with the firm since October 2017 as an independent non-executive director in Cairo. In the capacity of chief executive officer, Amr leads the firm's franchise in North Africa and oversees the company's strategy and senior client coverage in the region.
Stanley Kariuki is CEO and head of equities for Kenya, where he oversees the local team and has responsibility for trading and operations.
Marios Hadjiyannakis is CEO for Cyprus. He has the overall responsibility for regional business development, operations and regulatory relations.
Geography.
Renaissance Capital is focused on emerging and frontier markets. The firm has offices in Moscow, London, New York, Lagos, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Cairo and Nicosia.
Cairo serves as the focal point for the firm's activities in the Middle East and North Africa. One of the landmark transactions in this region was the first equity placement on the Egyptian Stock Exchange, completed in May 2016 on behalf of Egypt El Mansour & El Maghraby Investment and Development Company through an accelerated book build of Crédit Agricole Egypt SAE shares. Renaissance Capital acted as the sole organiser and bookrunner of the placement.
Renaissance Capital's office in Lagos (Nigeria) serves as a hub for the firm's West African operations, and its Nairobi (Kenya) office provides a base for its activities in the east of the continent. The firm has managed transactions in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Egypt and Zambia.
Rankings, ratings and awards.
In 2020, Renaissance Capital has been named 'Investment Bank of the Year for Emerging Markets in Europe' and 'Independent Investment Bank of the Year for Sustainability' in The Banker magazine's annual 'Investment Banking Awards 2020'. Previously, the Banker named Renaissance Capital the Most Innovative Bank for Emerging Markets in 2018 and the Most Innovative Bank from Central and Eastern Europe in 2019. 
The Global Finance’s Best Investment Banks award named Renaissance Capital as the Best Investment Bank in Frontier Markets for 2018 and the Best Debt Bank in Central and Eastern Europe for 2020, Best Bank for Crisis Financial Solutions in CEE and Best Investment Bank in Kenya in 2020.
GlobalCapital named Renaissance Capital #1 in the category Most Impressive Local Bank for CEE Bonds in 2018.
In 2019, Renaissance Capital was named the Best Investment Bank in Russia in 2018 in the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2019.
In the 2020 Financial Mail awards for African equity research, the Firm's local team was ranked #3. The team excelled in the sectors covered by Renaissance Capital and was rated top-3 in 13 sectors. The SSA team scooped the #1 rating in both the equities and non-equities categories.
Product offering.
Renaissance Capital offers a variety of investment banking services in debt and equity capital markets and M&A, sales and trading in equity, fixed income, FX and derivatives, hedging, REPO and financing, as well as prime brokerage and research.
The firm has established an algorithmic trading unit as part of its existing derivatives business to meet growing client demand, and capitalise on market opportunities.
Renaissance Capital has acted as organiser on a number of capital markets transactions in Russia, including: Beeline $127.4 mn IPO on NYSE in November 1996 – the first IPO out of Russia; ALROSA $1.3bn IPO in October 2013 – the largest IPO ever on Moscow Exchange; RUSAL $2.24 bn IPO in January 2010 – Hong Kong’s first ever offering by a Russian company; as well as major retail IPOs – Rosneft $10.7 bn IPO in July 2006 and VTB c.$8 bn IPO in May 2007.
In the frontier and emerging space, Renaissance Capital has organised a number of pioneering transactions including the following: