Russia’s Biggest Alcohol Retailer Said to Pick Banks for IPO

Mercury Retail, which controls Russia’s biggest chain of alcohol retailers, selected banks for an initial public offering planned for this year or early 2022.

The holding, which owns the Krasnoe & Beloe and Bristol discounters, has held preliminary meetings with investors, according to people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because the information is not public. Mercury picked banks including JPMorgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, VTB, Sberbank and Renaissance Capital for the deal, they said.

Spokespeople for Mercury and the banks declined to comment.

Krasnoe & Beloe and Bristol, which also offer food and ...