October 16 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian software developer Sirma Group said on Friday it has successfully closed its initial public offering (IPO) on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange, raising 11.5 million levs ($6.7 million/5.9 million euro).
Sirma Group said in a press release investors have subscribed 9.5 million shares at 1.2 levs apiece, well above the success threshold of 8 million shares.
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The IPO comprised 18,491,858 shares, including 16,000,000 new shares and 2,491,858 existing shares with a nominal value of 1 lev each.
Sirma Group's shares are expected to start trading on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange on December 16, 2015, according to a preliminary schedule.
"The project has been long and difficult, but its successful results will enable us to continue our investment program, allowing to boost the company's presence in our target markets," Sirma Group CEO Tsvetan Aleksiev said.
In September, Aleksiev said that Sirma Group will use the proceeds from the IPO to expand its presence on the US market, to increase its capacity, as well as to invest in research and development and in marketing activities.
Also in September, one of Sirma Group's co-owners, Yavor Djonev, told SeeNews that if the IPO is successful, the company will look for opportunities to list on a more liquid market, such as stock exchanges in the US, Vienna, Warsaw, or London.
Sirma Group Holding, founded in 1992 simultaneously in Bulgaria and Canada, employs more than 300 and operates on five continents. The company is active in semantic technology, mobile applications, enterprise resource planning, business intelligence, electronic government, financial and bank services.
The company's net profit for 2014 was 5 million euro ($5.63 million) which more than tripled compared to the previous year. Revenues grew 22% to 14.2 million euro in 2014.
(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)