Romanian online retailer Elefant repays bond before planned IPO

Romanian online retailer Elefant repays bond before planned IPO
By bne IntelliNews September 28, 2021

Romanian online retailer Elefant has fully repaid corporate bonds worth RON7.65mn (€1.5mn) issued in 2018 and listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), that had reached maturity. The company is reportedly preparing for an IPO next month.

The company paid the principal of RON100 per bond and the last coupon (RON 4.5616 per bond) on September 27. The bonds had a fixed coupon of 9%, payable semi-annually.

The bond issue, launched three years ago, was subscribed through a private placement brokered by SSIF Tradeville, by 65 investors, of which 61 were individuals and 4 legal entities. 641 individuals and 12 legal entities were registered for the payment of the last coupon.

“The amount we attracted was invested in the development of the Elefant platform, and the increased interest of investors in the issued bonds shows the trust they had in the company but also in its development plans. The success of this issue shows that the instruments on the capital market represent a means by which investors' money reaches the real economy, contributing to the development of companies," said Sergiu Chirca, CEO of Elefant.ro.

Elefant.ro reported a gross merchandise volume (GMV) of RON120.7mn in H1 this year, compared to RON117mn in the first six months of 2020, while the number of unique visitors on the platform increased by 12% y/y, to 12mn. Elefant plans to reach 50 showrooms nationwide in the next four years, from an existing chain of  11 showrooms and 14 lifting points.

Wood & Company Financial Services is reportedly preparing the listing of Elefant.ro through an IPO on the BVB scheduled for November this year, according to Ziarul Financiar quoting sources familiar with the operation on September 15.

Elefant.ro was set up and is controlled (60.7%) by Moldova’s former prime minister Ion Sturza through Millennium Gold Resources Limited. Axxess Capital private equity fund managed by Horia Manda (through the OLIF investment vehicle registered in the Netherlands), has been a significant shareholder with 29.4% of the capital, since 2016. Catalyst Romania Sca Sicar holds 9.92%, according to Confidas.ro data.

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