Romanian FMCG distribution group Aquila aims to raise EUR 87.5 mln in IPO

Aquila, one of the biggest distributors of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in Romania, aims to raise up to RON 433 mln (EUR 87.5 million) through an initial public offering (IPO) on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

This is the third major IPO of a private company on the Bucharest Stock Exchange’s main market this year, after those carried out by local transport group TTS and real estate develop One United.

Aquila plans to use most of the money raised in the IPO (between 50% and 70%) to buy other FMCG companies while the rest of the funds will go into digitization projects, developing the company’s brands and working capital.

The company will sell 66.66 million shares representing a third of its total number of shares after the IPO, targeting a post-money valuation of EUR 263 mln. The pre-monet valuation of EUR 175 mln stands for a multiple of about 14.5 times the net profit reported for 2020, which was approximately RON 60 mln (EUR 12.1 mln).

Aquila recorded revenues of RON 1.79 bln (EUR 362 mln) in 2020, up 6% compared with 2019, despite a 25% drop in the volume of goods distributed, especially to HORECA companies, because of the pandemic. However, the average price of the distributed goods increased by 27% due to the lower share of cheaper products distributed to HORECA, the company said in its IPO prospectus.

With a history of 26 years, Aquila is one of the biggest FMCG distributors in Romania, serving a network of about 67,000 points of sale, which includes traditional retailers, modern retailers and HORECA companies. Its top partners include Unilever, Mars, Ferrero, Philips, Essity, Coca-Cola, Lavazza and ETI Romania. The company’s founders are Romanian entrepreneurs Constantin-Cataliu Vasile and Alin-Adrian Dociu, who currently hold 50% of its shares each. After the IPO, they will hold stakes of 33.3% of the company.

The public offer starts on Monday, November 8 and ends on November 16. The IPO will have two tranches, one dedicated to institutional investors, which will represent 85% of the shares on sale, and one dedicated to retail investors, representing 15% of the shares on sale. The retail tranche will also be split into two sub-tranches: one with guaranteed allocation (investors get the exact number of shares underwritten) on a first-come-first-served basis and the other one with pro-rata allocation. The minimum subscription for retail investors is 750 shares or RON 4,875 (almost EUR 1,000) while the maximum is 12,000 shares.

Local brokerage firm Swiss Capital manages the IPO and BRK Financial Group and Tradeville are distribution agents.

(Photo source: the company's Facebook page)