Industrial Developer CTP Said to Eye $7 Billion Value at IPO

15 Oct 2020, 06:49 PM IST

(Bloomberg) -- CTP BV, a developer of industrial property in central and eastern Europe, has started discussions on a potential initial public offering that could take place next year, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The company, whose biggest market is the Czech Republic, is in early-stage talks with potential advisers, according to the people. It is considering seeking a valuation of around 6 billion euros ($7 billion) in the offering, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Amsterdam is among possible listing venues being discussed by CTP, which could seek to sell shares as early as the first quarter of 2021, the people said.

CTP has benefited from a rise in online shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced people to order everything from food to clothing from their computers. The company oversaw real estate in seven countries with more than 5.8 million square meters (62.4 million square feet) of leasable space at the end of last year, according to its website.

Its business parks includes warehouses and office properties used by tenants such as logistics and e-commerce companies. Deliberations are at an early stage, and details of the proposed offering could change, the people said. A representative for CTP didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Investors have been flocking to IPOs of European companies getting a boost from the e-commerce boom. Shares of online marketplace Allegro.eu SA have nearly doubled since it completed Warsaw’s biggest-ever listing last month. British e-commerce operator THG Holdings Ltd. also surged after completing its 1.88 billion-pound ($2.4 billion) IPO in September.

Gross rental income at CTP increased 14% to 153 million euros in the first half of the year, generating recurring earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of 119 million euros, according to a September investor presentation. Remon Vos, CTP’s chief executive officer, told the Hospodarske Noviny newspaper last month that an IPO was one of the options being considering to raise capital for expansion.

CTP said it’s the 5th-largest logistics property firm in Europe by lettable space, following Prologis Inc. of the U.S., U.K. peers Logicor Ltd. and Segro Plc, and Czech-based rival P3 Logistic Parks.