Studenac, Croatia's largest food retailer by store count, announced it will launch an initial public offering (IPO) on November 20, aiming to raise approximately €80 million in gross proceeds.
Studenac launches €80 million IPO
The offering includes up to 24,066,667 new shares and up to 31,103,927 existing shares, totaling a maximum of 55,170,594 shares, representing up to 35% of the company’s post-IPO share capital, assuming all new shares are issued. The announcement was made via a press release late Tuesday.
The IPO targets retail and institutional investors in Croatia and Poland, qualified institutional buyers in the U.S., and select international institutional investors. Retail investors may be allocated up to 10% of the offered shares.
IPO's price range
The indicative price range for institutional investors is set between 13.60 and 14.40 Polish zloty (€3.14 to €3.32) per share. Retail investors in Croatia and Poland will place orders at the maximum price of 14.40 zloty or €3.32 per share. The final pricing and allocation details are expected to be announced on November 27 or shortly thereafter, with trading scheduled to begin on the Warsaw and Zagreb stock exchanges on December 10.
Proceeds from the new share issuance will fund Studenac's business growth initiatives, including acquisitions, store expansions, and debt reduction, as measured by the Adjusted Net Debt/EBITDA ratio.
Selling shareholders
The selling shareholders include Polish Enterprise Fund VIII (PEF VIII), managed by private equity firm Enterprise Investors, which holds a 90.08% stake, and Beragua Capital Advisory S.L., Heunadel Retail Invest GmbH, Elisario Limited, and Vladimir Bosiljevac, who collectively own 9.16%. The remaining 0.76% of shares are held by other shareholders who will not participate in the offering.
Studenac has been Croatia's fastest-growing food retailer by revenue over the past five years. By the end of September, the company operated 1,404 stores—1,372 in Croatia and 32 in Slovenia, following its 2024 acquisition of Kea. For the first eight months of 2024, Studenac reported consolidated revenue of €556.5 million, a 19.7% year-on-year increase, with adjusted EBITDA rising 22.3% to €66.9 million.
