Russian e-commerce firm Ozon loses latest appeal against Nasdaq delisting

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian e-commerce firm Ozon said on Tuesday it had lost the latest appeal against the delisting of its American depositary shares (ADSs) from Nasdaq, dampening faint hopes that its securities could remain listed on the U.S. exchange.

Ozon, one of Russia's top e-commerce companies, raised nearly $1 billion in an initial public offering (IPO) in late 2020, a debut that sparked a mini-IPO boom for Russian firms.

Trading in Ozon's securities on Nasdaq was suspended soon after Russia despatched troops to Ukraine in February 2022, as were Russian company listings on the London Stock Exchange.

Ozon said it was notified on Aug. 18 that its latest efforts to avoid the delisting were unsuccessful, but said the Nasdaq board of directors could propose to review the decision at an upcoming meeting.

"Our ADSs will not be delisted from Nasdaq until all available review and appeal procedures and periods available under the Nasdaq listing rules have expired," Ozon said in a statement.

In late July, Ozon's ADSs began trading on Kazakhstan's Astana International Exchange (AIX), a move that it said could increase liquidity, especially for international investors to trade its securities.

Russian recruiter Headhunter's securities have already been delisted from Nasdaq, but payments provider Qiwi and tech giant Yandex were thrown a lifeline to remain on Nasdaq, provided they divest entirely of their Russian assets.

(Reporting by Olga Popova in Moscow and Alexander Marrow in London; Editing by Mark Potter)