February 9 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian poultry producer Gradus said on Friday it plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange in mid-2018 seeking over 100 million levs ($62.7 million/51.1 million euro).
"This is the largest IPO in our country since the crisis in the previous decade, and it will allow investors to enter one of the least represented, yet fastest growing sectors - the food industry," Gradus said in a statement.
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The IPO proceeds will go to expand the existing business lines and add new ones for the production of high quality food products.
First Financial Brokerage House will act as manager of the issue.
Pre-marketing shows strong interest from institutional and private investors in Bulgaria and abroad, reflecting Gradus's good financial results and strong positioning on the domestic market, the company noted.
In 2017, the company booked a net profit of 34 million levs on the back of 200 million levs in revenues.
"We definitely believe that the initial public offering of Gradus shares will justify expectations. It will take the company on a new path and will open up new prospects for development," Angel Angelov, CEO of Gradus, said in the statement. "We believe that we are well prepared and we are debuting on the BSE at a time when we can respond to investors' goals."
Gradus claims it holds a 35% share of the poultry products market in the country.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)