As of today, the shares of Purcari Wineries, one of the largest CEE wine groups, are on the Main Market of Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), symbol WINE, following a successful IPO of 49 percent of its shares.
According to a press release, the offering was well received, with retail investors oversubscribing more than four times over, despite heavy turbulence on global markets, and the Dow Jones recording the two largest point-drops on record. The final offer price was RON 19 per share, valuing the offering at over RON 186 million (some USD 50 million or EUR 40 million).
The Moldova-based company is led by Founder and CEO Victor Bostan, an oenologist by training with over 35 years of experience in the wine business, and backed by Horizon Capital, the leading private equity firm in Ukraine and Moldova, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
“Today we begin a new chapter for Purcari, continuing on our roadmap to becoming the undisputed wine champion in Central and Eastern Europe. (…) It is truly a great time to be in the wine business: global supply is unable to meet rising consumption, leading to shortages and higher margins for producers. Unlike oil, the supply-demand curve cannot be easily rebalanced as there is no such thing as ’shale wine’. We look forward to capitalizing on these favourable conditions, leveraging our low-cost position and strong brands,” said Victor Bostan.
In turn, Lucian Anghel, President of BVB, said that through the listing on the BVB, Purcari is sending a strong message regarding its objective of becoming the undisputed leader of the wine market in the CEE region.
Purcari has expanded revenues at a CAGR of 34 percent between 2014-2016, with the growth rate in Romania at 55 percent, Poland at 49 percent, Moldova at 44 percent, and the Czech Republic and Slovakia at 15 percent. In the first nine months of 2017, Purcari sales grew by 35 percent year-on-year, accelerating to 69 percent growth in Romania.