Russia's Promsvyazbank moves closer to London IPO

MOSCOW, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Advisors to Promsvyazbank, one of Russia's largest privately-owned banks, are to start meeting with investors for a planned London initial public offering of up to $500 million, two sources close to the placement said.

Earlier in September, the bank asked Russia's local market regulator for permission to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange, marking the first step towards a long-awaited foreign listing.

Promsvyazbank, where brothers Dmitry and Alexey Ananyev own a 88.3 percent stake, said at the time it asked the regulator to approve the listing of no more than 25 percent of its shares in London in the form of global depositary receipts (GDR).

The advisors are expected to start meeting investors on Monday, the sources said.