The shares of Romania’s largest private healthcare services provider, MedLife (M), started trading on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) today, December 21, 2016, following the successful completion of the largest initial public offer (IPO) of a private company that has ever taken place on the Romanian capital market. The first trades were done at RON 26/share.
“We have a new and modern market which is now ready to absorb large transactions more than ever in the past. BVB is a new brand today, a new point of interest for local and foreign investors. BVB is about keeping constant connections with the brokerage firms and private companies. That is why I am not surprised that MedLife has successfully listed on the stock exchange. Events of such magnitude simply had to happen,” said Ludwik Sobolewski, CEO at the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
According to BVB Chairman, Lucian Anghel, this is by far the most important signal the local capital market can send to Romanian investors and entrepreneurs to boost their confidence.
“They are not stepping on thin ice here but rather have access to solid capital on the stock exchange,” the BVB Chairman stated, adding: “It’s a giant step for the local capital market. We strongly expect the success of MedLife will soon be followed by more and more entrepreneurs who will see in the Romanian capital market a reliable partner to develop their businesses”.
UK investment company Charlemagne Capital, which has been involved in the past in several real estate projects in Romania like Millennium Business Center office building or Asmita Gardens residential complex, bought 7.21 percent of MedLife share, profit.ro informs.
The total value of MedLife’s IPO amounted to RON 230 million or some EUR 50.5 million for a 44 percent stake in MedLife. The investment fund Value4Capital Eastern Europe Holdings (V4C) sold a 36.25 percent stake in the company, while the International Finance Corporation (IFC) sold 7.75 percent. MedLife’s IPO was intermediated by Raiffeisen Bank as leader of the consortium and Wood&Co.
The IPO consisted of 8.8 million shares which were sold in two tranches: 85 percent to institutional investors between the 6th and 15th of December and 15 percent to retail investors who subscribed during December 7-15. The final share price from the IPO was set at RON 26 for institutional investors, RON 24.7 for private individuals who subscribed during the first four days and RON 26 for the remainder. For the first trading day, the shares will not have a variation limit. At RON 26 per share, MedLife has a market capitalization of RON 522.4 million.