Russian computer security company Kaspersky considers listing

Mar 18, 2007, 10:27 GMT

Hanover - Kaspersky Lab, the Russian company that has built an international reputation in computer security software, is considering listing on a Western stock exchange, company head Natalja Kaspersky said Sunday.

Speaking to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa at the Cebit Fair in the German city Hanover, Kaspersky said there were no definite plans for an initial public offering (IPO) and added the time was inopportune at the moment.

She referred to the Russian presidential elections in 2008 as one reason. Another was lack of clarity for the virus protection sector in the light of Microsoft's decision to enter the market and the launch at the beginning of this year of the Windows Vista operating system.

The lack of a hi-tech market in Russia meant that Western stock exchanges would be considered for the IPO, Kaspersky said.

'Ours would not really fit among the oil and gas shares,' she said.

Kaspersky added the company was not in urgent need of the funding an IPO would bring. 'We have sufficient money,' she said.

The firm does not reveal its current ownership structure, saying only that it is a closed company with a limited number of shareholders.

At Cebit, the world's largest fair of its kind, Kaspersky has warned that the battle against computer viruses might be unwinnable.

'If the growth in malware continues at the current pace, makers of anti-virus software may not be able to withstand the onslaught,' company founder Eugene Kaspersky said.