SOFIA (Bulgaria), September 11 (SeeNews) – Bulgarian toothbrush and wet wipes producer Astera Cosmetics plans to go public by the end of the year, aiming to raise funds for investments in its toothbrush production, the company chairman Lukan Lukanov said on Tuesday.
“We are preparing the prospectus at the moment. (…) I suppose that it [the initial public offering] will become a fact by the New Year,” Lukanov told SeeNews.
You can subscribe to our M&A newsletter here
Lukanov said the parameters of the issue have not been set yet. He added the raised funds would be used for upgrading the company’s equipment.
Astera Cosmetics produces toothbrushes worth some 5.5 million levs ($3.9 million/2.8 million euro) yearly, Lukanov said.
A rising number of Bulgarian companies have announced plans to list on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange in search of funds and publicity since the beginning of the year, lured by the strong growth performance of the stock exchange in Sofia. Rises have been partially backed by the country’s entry in the EU in January and the inflow of foreign investors.
Astera Cosmetics has a market share of some 42% to 50% in Bulgaria and aims to retain that share by the launch of new products, Lukanov said. The company also exports to Europe, Russia, Asia and the U.S.
The company had profit of some 1.75 million levs last year, Lukanov said.
(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)