Johannesburg – Steinhoff International leapt more than 3% on the JSE on Monday morning following the retailer saying it planned to proceed with the initial public offering (IPO) of Pepco Group.
According to the group, the move, which would result in its listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, came after it received necessary consents from its financial creditors to sell at least 15% of shares in Pepco Group for nearly R13-billion.
Pepco said it believed that the offering and admission was a natural step at this point in its growth and maturity, giving it access to a wider range of capital-raising options which may be of use in the future.
“It is intended to diversify the group’s shareholder base and further the group’s separation from the Steinhoff group, improve the ability of the group to recruit, retain and incentivise its key management and colleagues, and create a liquid market in the shares for existing and future shareholders,” said Pepco.
Pepco operates in more than 16 countries in Europe and has more than 3,200 stores.
Steinhoff has been battling for survival since it admitted to accounting irregularities in 2017 which led to a more than 95% decline in its share price.
It said the planned offering would consist of the sale of its existing shares by current shareholders and the offering targets institutional and retail investors, including a public offering in Poland and an offering to certain institutional investors in and outside of the US.
