First private IPO on Bucharest Stock Exchange fails after AdePlast misses minimum sales threshold

The Initial Public Offering of Romanian construction materials producer AdePlast has failed after not enough investors subscribed during the offer. Even if the offer for retail was oversubscribed, the retail segment was only 15 percent of the entire offer, and there were not enough corporate investors interested in buying AdePlast shares. The company was hoping to raise between EUR 13 million and EUR 15 million via listing on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. “We were ready for the Stock Exchange, but it seems the Stock Exchange was not ready for AdePlast. Unfortunately, I think we are not in a stage where the stock exchange is a viable alternative to finance private companies in Romania,” said Marcel Barbut, CEO and owner of AdePlast. He added: “People trusted us. But for such a project to be valid, we need more than that.” This would have been the first listing of a private company on the Bucharest Stock Exchange in the last five years. For a successful IPO, the company should have sold 70 percent of its shares on offer. With or without the listing, AdePlast says it already increased its turnover by 40 percent in the first nine months. With its eyes on becoming a regional player, the company prepares to better cover Western markets, where it already sells its products, for example in Austria and Germany. Via the recently – finalized IPO, AdePlast wanted to sell a total of 16.5 million shares, namely 33.3 percent of its increased share capital. Established in 1996, AdePlast, owned by Romanian businessman Marcel Barbut, operates nine factories for dry mortar, polystyrene and paints located on three industrial sites in Oradea, Ploiesti and Roman. In 2012, the company recorded a net profit of EUR 3.6 million, while its revenues increased by 29 percent year-on-year. editor@romania-insider.com