MOSCOW, Nov 2 Reuters Russian men39;s clothing chain Henderson said on Thursday it had raised 3.8 billion roubles 40.8 million through its initial public offering, giving the retailer a market value of around 27.3 billion roubles, which exceeded early estimates.

Henderson, which operates 159 stores across 64 cities in Russia as well as Armenia, has benefited from the exodus of hundreds of foreign retailers from Russia since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

The company said the IPO was oversubscribed several times over, with strong demand from retail and institutional investors pushing the share price to the upper end of the indicative price range of 675 roubles each.

Its shares fluctuated soon after trading began at 1300 GMT, before settling lower on the day at around 650 roubles apiece.

The company said it had raised 3 billion roubles through the issue of 4.4 million shares, with a stabilisation package and founder Ruben Arutyunyan39;s sale of 300 million roubles39; worth of stock taking the overall size of the offering to 3.8 billion roubles.

Henderson will have a free float of 13.9, the company said. It intends to use the funds raised to finance growth, including opening new stores and revamping others.

It is very nice that millions trust a fashion house and tens of thousands trust the company enough to become shareholders, Arutyunyan told Reuters after trading launched.

The gradual departure of foreign retailers from Russia since it began…