ADVERTISEMENT

Allegro Raises Record Polish IPO to as Much as $2.7 Billion

Allegro Raises Record Polish IPO to as Much as $2.7 Billion

E-commerce platform Allegro raised the size of its initial public offering and now is seeking as much as 10.6 billion zloty ($2.7 billion) in Poland’s largest-ever listing.

The shares are likely to be sold at at 43 zloty each in the IPO, the top end of a marketed range, according to terms seen by Bloomberg. Allegro now expects to sell as many as 246.9 million shares, including an over-allotment option, up 14% from 216 million previously, according to an update to the IPO prospectus posted on Friday. The offering was initially expected to raise a maximum of 8 billion zloty.

The offering has received a “positive response” from potential investors with indications of interest “materially” exceeding initial expectations, the company said in the filing. The company is selling 28.6 million new shares, while Allegro’s private equity owners -- Cinven, Permira and Mid Europa Partners -- are offering the rest.

With the new size and top-end pricing, Allegro’s listing is set to surpass the country’s biggest IPO to date: insurer PZU SA’s 8.1 billion-zloty offering in 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Allegro is tapping the market as investors gravitate toward technology and online retail companies, which have been buoyed by customer demand during the lockdowns in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Defying Trend

The gulf between tech stocks and old-economy firms is becoming pronounced in the IPO market. Belgian fintech company Unifiedpost Group SA also priced its IPO at the top end of an initial range and sold more shares than initially expected.

In contrast, China Yangtze Power Co. started trading in London through the Shanghai-London Stock Connect program on Friday after selling 37% fewer shares than its top-end target. Camper-van maker Knaus Tabbert AG, which debuted in Frankfurt this week, also cut the size of its IPO.

Allegro’s positioning in both tech and retail, coupled with the expected addition of the stock to Poland’s main equity benchmark, has led some analysts to dub the IPO a “must-have” for investors.

After the IPO, 24% of the total share capital will be available for trading if bankers fully exercise their option to sell more shares from the private equity firms, according to the terms. Books will close at 1 p.m. in London on Monday, the terms showed, and the stock is due to start trading Oct. 12. Allegro’s private equity backers bought the business from South Africa’s Naspers Ltd. in 2016 for $3.25 billion.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley are global coordinators on Allegro’s listing, while Barclays Bank Plc, Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Dom Maklerski Banku Handlowego SA are bookrunners.

Santander Bank Polska SA and BM PKO BP are bookrunners and co-offering agents in Poland in connection with the retail tranche. Bank Polska Kasa Opieki SA, Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, Erste Group Bank AG, Pekao Investment Banking SA and Raiffeisen Centrobank AG are co-lead managers. Lazard Ltd. is the financial adviser.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.