The market debut of discount retailer Pepco is likely to be priced at least at 40 zlotys (€8.81) per share, bookrunners said on Wednesday, meaning shareholders may sell stock worth around 3.7 billion (€810 million) zlotys in what may be Poland's biggest IPO of 2021.
While the expected pricing is towards the lower end of the 38 zloty to 46 zloty-per-share indicative price range, the fact that South African conglomerate Steinhoff chose Warsaw over London to list Pepco came as a boost to the Polish stock exchange.
The Polish bourse was passed over by parcel delivery company InPost, which chose to list in Amsterdam in January.
Bookrunners said that the final offer size meant that 18% of the company, or 92,446,602 shares would be sold.
Books close at 11:00 GMT on Thursday, and have been oversubscribed on the maximum deal size, the bookrunners said.
Pepco trades from more than 3,200 stores across 16 countries.
Expansion Plans
In February of this year, the Poundland owner said it aims to open 400 stores across Europe in its 2020-21 financial year in a bid to expand its PEPCO brand beyond central and eastern Europe
Pepco Group is part of South African conglomerate Steinhoff. Since 2019, Steinhoff and its creditors have been evaluating a range of strategic options for Pepco Group, including a potential public listing, private equity sale or trade sale.
The discount retailer reported a 31% drop in full-year core earnings, as coronavirus-related store closures impacted its performance.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. For more Retail stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
