Żabka Polska (translates as a little frog), the Polish famous 7-Eleven-type convenience store has just made its debut on the Warsaw Stock Exchange - making it as the IPO of the year in the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
Everyone knows Zabka in Poland - it is estimated that 17 million people (~45% of the population) lives less than 500m of the closest Zabka.
Żabka - the largest chain of convenience shops in Poland, with over 10,500 shops operating on a franchise basis, including self-service Żabka Nano shops. The group is also developing catering services (Maczfit, Dietly) and online grocery shopping (Jush!, Delio). Żabka also opened its shops in Romania this year under the Froo brand. Zabka’s debut on the WSE is one of the biggest stock market events in Poland in recent years and has attracted the attention of both domestic and foreign investors and the general public.
Żabka goes public:
The debut of the retail chain Żabka on the Warsaw Stock Exchange took place yesterday, i.e. on 17 October. The offer included the sale of 300 million existing shares and the price was set at 21,50 PLN apiece. Zabka’s market value is around 5bn Euro.
Debut on the WSE (Warsaw Stock Exchange):
Yesterday, at exactly 9:15 a.m., żabka entered the market and the opening price was PLN 23, which is 6.98% higher than the IPO price (Initial public offer). At 9.37 a.m., the share price stood at PLN 21,50 (0.0%), thus equalling the IPO price. After two hours of trading, the price of the Żabka Group was gaining again 3.26%. However, the closing price was PLN 21,50, which is exactly what it was at the IPO. Żabka Group is listed under the abbreviated name ‘ZABKA’ and the ticker ‘ZAB’. The closing price with 0% increase was a small disappointment for many investors.
Comparisons to other debuts:
Żabka's debut is often compared to the entry of Allegro (Poland's largest e-commerce platform, operating as an online marketplace) on the stock exchange, which brought spectacular profits in its first days. Analysts also point to earlier successful debuts such as Dino, Ten Square Games and Celon Pharma. However, Żabka, unlike Allegro, is unlikely to enter the main stock market indices (WIG20) right away, but rather the mWIG40. It may not enter the WIG20 until 2025. Żabka is one of the largest IPOs on the WSE, ahead of Allegro, PZU, and PKO BP and just behind JSW, Play, Tauron and Pepco.
“Expectations for the behaviour of the price in the debut were more optimistic. The marked increase in the price was very short-lived, and then the price returned to the vicinity of the issue price. Given how the prices of companies with large issues have behaved so far, there was talk of a price increase of 10-20 percent above the IPO price.” - mentioned Piotr Dmuchowski, Vice-President of TFI PZU.
Comments