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In total, the offer is to be worth at least EUR 1.25 billion. According to reports from Bloomberg, 10-15 percent will go to the trading floor. shares of the fund, which would mean its valuation at the level of EUR 13-15 billion. The debut is expected to take place in the coming weeks – assuming that stock exchange conditions do not deteriorate. CVC’s portfolio also includes, among others: Breitling, a Swiss watch manufacturer, or Lipton Teas and Infusions.
The planned debut of CVC has refreshed market speculations regarding the debut of the Żabka Group itself. Already two years ago, before the bear market, when there was talk of plans for CVC’s debut, there were rumors that the fund would exit its investment in Żabka via a trading floor, probably a domestic one. Today, there are concerns on the market that it might be the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.
– We do not comment on rumors and speculations. There was no communication from CVC regarding plans to exit the investment in Żabka, in particular the place of debut – Krzysztof Krawczyk, partner of the CVC fund, tells us.
Read also: “On average, a consumer spends 106 seconds in Żabka. We want him to stay there as short as possible.”
InPost replaced Warsaw with Amsterdam
Żabka is a very recognizable brand in Poland, and investors like companies that they know from everyday life. That’s one of the reasons why the main owner Pepco (a company controlled by Steinhoff, a retail concern from South Africa) decided to debut in Warsaw.
In turn, InPost – a Polish company with a strong local brand position – chose a foreign trading floor. In 2021, it debuted on the Euronext exchange in Amsterdam. Previously, InPost and its parent company, Integer, were listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. However, they got into financial trouble and in 2017, AI Prime from the Advent group and Rafał Brzoska announced a tender offer and then a compulsory buyout of shares.
– This is the next phase of our development. We want to develop our business internationally – commented Rafał Brzoska, founder and president of InPost, on the return to the stock exchange, but a foreign one. He wanted to strengthen the brand’s recognition and credibility abroad and open the door to the expansion of parcel lockers to new countries.
Read also: After a phenomenal stock exchange debut, InPost quickly began to lose value. Then the low price attracted funds
In the offer in Amsterdam, InPost was valued at PLN 34 billion (taking into account the average share price ranges). Today, such a company might be found on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, but three years ago it was definitely too large for the liquidity and depth of our stock exchange at that time – which was having a difficult time and was pale in comparison to the region. Additionally, analysts point out that InPost left the WSE in an atmosphere of conflict with Polish institutional investors and that is also why it did not want to come back here.
There are few Polish companies on foreign stock exchanges
InPost is the only Polish company listed on a foreign stock exchange. There are many Polish strong market players whose parent companies are listed abroad, for example Biedronka (Lisbon), construction company Mota Engil (London), fish producer MOWI (London).
– There are few examples of Polish companies listed on foreign stock exchanges. Several companies are or were listed in London. What I mean here is Stock Spirits, Dominos Pizza (the Polish part – ed.), and Work Service, which entered the London Stock Exchange on a dual-listing basis. This step was difficult to consider a success due to the lack of liquidity. Moreover, other companies, such as LiveChat (currently Text – ed.), or Asseco were planning to be listed in the USA, and CI Games in London, but ultimately this never happened – says Wojciech Iwaniak, president of the management board of InnerValue, member of the management board of the INC group ARE.
On the so-called Dual listing, i.e. listing simultaneously on the Polish and foreign markets, was also decided by large corporations, including: Ciech, KOV, KGHM – but also without major successes. Theoretically, in this way companies can attract the attention of foreign capital and increase interest in Polish capital among global investors.
– Polish companies are much more often taken over by companies already listed on other stock exchanges and are indirectly listed on other trading floors. A perfect example of this is Jeronimo Martins and Biedronka. Recently, such an example was Skriware, which ended up in the hands of the Danish Shape Robotics, and Polish investors received shares of this company listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange – points out Wojciech Iwaniak.
Why are there few Polish companies on foreign stock exchanges? Experts see three main reasons. For years, the Polish stock exchange, thanks to its extensive investor base (mainly thanks to OFE), offered a large premium in terms of IPO valuations compared to other European markets. Moreover, for many years we were in the top three in terms of the number of transactions in Europe. Another barrier to entering foreign stock exchanges was our small group of globally recognized brands and lack of experience in such processes – and investors like to invest funds based on mechanisms they know.
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Bigger stock exchange, bigger opportunities
Why are Polish company owners considering a foreign debut today? The Polish capital market is still associated with risk for foreign investors – this raises concerns regarding interest in shares if the owner relies largely on investors from outside Poland (Polish investors today have easy access to foreign stock exchanges, so they can also support the valuation). We might see the manifestation of concerns related to the stability of the Polish capital market in 2022, when Polish companies recorded very strong depreciations without a clear deterioration of the fundamental situation, and were pushed more by investors’ nervousness in connection with the war on the eastern border.
– The Polish capital market remains exposed to risks related to developing markets and the company’s decision to enter a foreign stock exchange partially eliminates these risks. Entering a foreign stock exchange still allows access to wider capital, while slightly reducing the risk of the entire market – notes Tymoteusz Turski, XTB analyst. – The Polish market is also burdened with political risk. A large part of the leading companies listed on the Polish market are State Treasury companies, which gives investors considering investing in our market additional concerns related to the direction of changes in the activities of these companies. The Polish market also remains relatively small compared to the world’s leading stock exchanges, such as the USA and Germany, he adds.
