Croatian retailer Studenac has decided to cancel its dual initial public offering (IPO) because of unfavourable market conditions.
"Due to the challenging conditions in capital markets, we - together with our majority shareholder - have decided not to proceed with the IPO," CEO Michal Senczuk said in a statement.
Studenac declined to comment further when contacted by Reuters.
It had priced the offering at a maximum 14.40 zlotys or €3.32 per share, hoping to bring the total value to more than €183 million ($192.90 million).
It had planned to list its shares in Warsaw and Zagreb and aimed to raise around €80 million from the issuance of new shares to finance its growth.
Studenac IPO
Fixed-income news service IFR reported that books for Studenac's offering were still not covered ahead of the close on Wednesday.
Studenac's offering, along with that of Polish convenience store group Żabka, was expected to give a boost to Warsaw's bourse, which has not seen many big deals in recent years.
Żabka's shares have had a muted run since their debut last month and are down 12% from their IPO price of 21.50 zlotys.
Senczuk said Studenac intended to keep driving organic growth by opening new stores and to pursue its strategy of consolidating the market through acquisitions of other players in Croatia and Slovenia.
In September, Dragan Baškarad, a member of the retailer's management board, said Studenac sees significant potential for further expansion.
Speaking during a conference organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia and private equity company Enterprise Investors (EI), Baškarad noted that the company is aiming to increase its store count to 3,400 within the next five years, reported local daily Novi List.
