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A record breaking 81 new companies made their debut on main WSE market in 2007, with another 24 debuting in the newly launched alternative market NewConnect. This beats WSE’s previous record of 62 newly listed companies in 1997.
The value of IPOs in 2007 also peaked at more than PLN 18.2 Bln (EUR 5.05 Bln). This is an all time record in history of the WSE (with previous peak IPO value of PLN 13.1 Bln in 2004).
38 companies debuted on the WSE in 2006, with total value of their IPOs reaching PLN 4.16 Bn.
Fig. 1. Value of IPOs in 2006 and 2007 on the main WSE market (PLN Bln).
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Source: WSE
Foreign debuts
12 foreign companies debuted on the WSE this year. The total value of their IPOs exceeded PLN 13 Bln (EUR 3.6 Bln). 8 companies conducted new share issues associated with their WSE debut. The IPO of Immoeast was the largest at more than PLN 10.7 Bln (EUR 3 Bln), with Orco Property Group second with PLN 652 Mln (EUR 181 Mln) and Kernel Holding third at PLN 546 Mln (EUR 152 Mln).
Debuting companies came from markets not represented so far on the WSE, i.e. Estonia, Italy, Spain and Sweden. A second Ukrainian corporation – Kernel Holding – staged its debut this year on the WSE.
More large IPOs
16 IPOs had a value in excess of PLN 100 Mln, each, and two exceeded the PLN 1 Bln mark, i.e. the IPOs of Immoeast and LC Corp. Just 7 IPOs in 2006 exceeded the PLN 100 Mln threshold.
The best debuts
Debut of Petrolinvest gave investors a hefty 160 percent increase in value of their shares at close of the first WSE listing day. Value of Erbud shares increased by 83 percent, and of Budvar Centrum by 79 percent at the end of their respective first listing day. On the other side of the scale, debut of Arcus ended with a loss of 19 percent in value of shares at end of their first listing day as compared with the issue price.
NewConnect
24 companies debuted on the NewConnect market in just 4 months of its operation. Total value of their IPOs exceeded PLN 150 Mln (EUR 42 Mln). Companies and investors received a new opportunity to sell shares through in private placements. This opportunity has been eagerly taken up by NewConnect companies and a majority of them opted for such a solution.
LUG was the largest debut by value, with its offer exceeding PLN 20.5 Mln. 5 other companies conducted IPOs worth in excess of PLN 5 Mln, each, i.e. Stark Development, Inwest Connect, Mera Schody, WDM and MW Trade.
Figure 2. Value of IPOs on the NewConnect market in 2007 (PLN Mln).
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Source: WSE
New records
IPO of the Austrian developer Immoeast was the largest IPO in history of the WSE, valued at PLN 10.7 Bln (EUR 3 Bln) (in which Polish investors purchased shares worth approx. PLN 463 Mln). The second largest debut was that of LC Corp, which sold shares worth in excess of PLN 1 Bln (EUR 270 Mln), also becoming the largest by value IPO of a Polish private company on the WSE.
Structure of this year’s debuts shows that more and more private Polish corporations derive their funds for development from the stock exchange market. Of the 10 largest IPOs by private Polish companies, 3 took place in 2007, i.e. LC Corp. JW. Construction and Noble Bank. Overall value of those three IPOs exceeded PLN 2.1 Bln (EUR 580 Mln).
Largest IPOs in history of the WSE.
|
Company |
|
Year |
|
Immoeast |
10.72 |
2007 |
|
PKO BP |
7.89 |
2004 |
|
TPSA |
3.16 |
1998 |
|
PGNiG |
2.68 |
2005 |
|
PKN Orlen |
2.41 |
1999 |
|
BorsodChem |
1.57 |
2004 |
|
KGHM |
1.35 |
1997 |
|
LC Corp |
1.06 |
2007 |
|
Grupa LOTOS |
1.01 |
2005 |
Source: WSE
WSE – a market for developers
Warsaw is growing into a dominating regional market for IPOs of developers – a large and prospective segment of the industry. This is witnessed by the numerous debuts and expected listings of successive companies from this industry on the WSE. Total value of IPOs in the developer and construction industries in 2007 (without that of Immoeast) exceeded PLN 4.4 Bln (EUR 1.2 Bln).
In effort to provide investors with an analytical tool, the WSE started to publish the WIG-developers segment index, picturing condition of this industry on the WSE. This sub-index presently includes 14 companies.
The Warsaw Stock Exchange is proud to be one of the most active IPO markets in Europe for several years, now. 38 companies debuted in 2006 and 35 in 2005.
