* Moscow investment bank hires six RenCap players
* Says expansion should lead to IPO in 2012
* Renaissance says ex-CEO will head up new Russia division
By John Bowker
MOSCOW, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Russian lender Otkritie has poached a group of six bankers from larger rival Renaissance Capital in a hiring spree to boost its investment bank ahead of a planned IPO for the group in 2012.
The company, which founded its investment bank in early 2007, said RenCap's head of equity trading Sunil Joshi would lead the exodus from the emerging markets specialist, which has been expanding aggressively in Africa.
The mass hire brings the number of RenCap defectors at Otkritie to nine, while appointments have also been made in recent months from Uralsib and Citi.
The move comes as a fresh blow to RenCap, which last month lost a string of highly-rated employees including head of fixed income research Alexei Moiseev to state-controlled VTB Capital.
IPO 2012
Otkritie also said on Thursday The International Finance Corporation, the World Bank's investment arm, would buy a 17 percent stake in the firm for up to 3.04 billion roubles ($102.6 million), valuing the firm at just over $600 million.
Roman Lokhov, Otkritie's head of investment banking, told Reuters a key stage of the growth plan was to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2012.
"If market conditions allow, that is what we want to do," he said on the sidelines of a media event in Moscow.
The bank is controlled by Vadim Belyaev and Boris Mints, who own nearly 80 percent between them. State-controlled VTB has a 19.9 percent stake.
Banking sources said RenCap's increasing focus outside Russia had led Russia specialists to grow restless and seek a more domestic orientated employer.
For its own part, Renaissance has made a number of high level appointments this year, including a new global head of cash equities, and said there were more to come.
It said on Thursday it had hired a new credit analyst from Standard & Poor's.
The company, half owned by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, has expanded into Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya in recent months -- a drive led by its co-founder and CEO Stephen Jennings.
Renaissance Group said on Monday its former CEO Alexander Pertsovsky would take a newly created post as head of its Russian division, the first time the bank has split home market operations from its fast expanding overseas unit. (Additional reporting by Denis Pinchuk)