Last week, Bakkavor Group, the UK-based provider of fresh prepared foods, said that it would no longer proceed with its planned initial public offering.
However, the company has now announced an offer price of 180 pence per share, representing approximately 25% of the company's shares, equating to a market capitalisation of £1.043 billion.
The group says that it will receive gross proceeds of £100 million from the offer, which will be used primarily to enable further investment and the reduction of the group's current leverage.
“This IPO represents a significant milestone in the development of Bakkavor," said Agust Gudmundsson, CEO of Bakkavor.
"We are pleased that this has been recognised by the investor community and look forward to delivering further growth and success as a listed business.”
Changing Plans
Today's announcement from Bakkavor made no mention of its previous plans to halt the IPO.
Earlier this week, the company said that it had received sufficient institutional demand to cover the offering, but the board had decided that the transaction would not be in the best interests of the company.
It cited the 'current volatility in the IPO market' as the reason for this decision.
Bakkavor has a 30% share of the UK’s £7 billion fresh prepared-food market, providing salads, desserts, pizza and other prepared meals for customers such as Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury's.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
