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10 I Companies & Markets bne November 2017
Romanian Pizza Hut, KFC franchise holder plans IPO on Bucharest bourse
Carmen Simion in Bucharest
Romanian food service operator Sphera Franchise Group announced on October 9 it plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB).
The IPO market for private companies in Romania recently revived, with the listing of Medlife in December 2016 followed by the considerably larger IPO of Digi Communications in May.
The IPO will consist of shares representing approximately 25% of the total number of shares issued by Sphera Franchise Group which will be offered to retail and institutional
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investors in Romania and to international institutional investors, excluding the US. The offering is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of the year.
The company will not raise new capital in connection with the public offering and will not receive any of the proceeds, it said in a statement. It is not uncommon in Romania for a company to IPOs as an exit for investors rather than being used to fund further growth.
WOOD & Company is acting as sole global coordinator and joint bookrunner in connection with the offering. Raiffeisen Bank (Romania) is acting as joint bookrunner and Alpha