This has been done more than desired, but Cox finally rings the bell with the help of its executive president Enrique Riquelme and begins its journey on the Spanish stock exchange with a drop of 0.6% in the first changes. The company debuted at a price of 10.23 euros per share (the lower end of the range) and with a capitalization of 805 million euros.
Through a Public Subscription Offer (OPS), the company placed on the market a total of 17.1 million shares. The company managed to raise 175 million euros, plus an additional 10 million additional thanks to the 10% over-allotment option.
The listing of the group took place in a very complex market environment, although Cox is making its debut on the stock exchange with the support of national and international investors, highlighting the presence of very geographically diversified global investors – with a majority presence in the United Kingdom, the United States and the Middle East.
With this, there are already three IPOs in 2024, following the May debut of Puig (the world’s largest IPO this year) and Inmocemento that same week. . Along the way, other names, like Europastry, were on the exit ramp, but were ultimately put on hold.
In a statement, the company indicated that this culminating process “represents a boost to the business plan for the years to come, confirming the good positioning of the entity at a global level, as well as the opportunity for growth”.
A quasi “tragi-comedy”
It’s true that Cox’s debut doesn’t come at the most ideal time. That same week, he also took the plunge Inmocemento, which is already trading 19% below the starting price4.25 euros per share. Neither Puig, the other company that rang the bell this year, is saved from the clutches of the market and loses almost 22% of the value with which it jumped on the Spanish stock exchange, 24.50 euros.
The market environment has meant that Cox’s IPO has been plagued by all kinds of rumors and doubts in recent days. The company was to announce this Tuesday the fixing of its shares. He didn’t do it. It extended the subscription period of the operation until this Wednesday, but before that, it reduced the amount of its operation to 175 million euros (compared to the 190-210 million euros that it hoped for initially raised) and reduced the over-allotment by €15 million. % to 10%. Ultimately, the company closed the book with excess demand and hit that 175 million and that 10%.
Initially, the energy company planned to put on the market between 19.5 and 17.6 million shares. In the prospectus, the company also placed the value of its shares between 10.23 and 11.38 euros, with which Cox’s capitalization would have been between 837 and 931 million euros. After extending the deadline, the company had to announce the final price of its securities this Wednesday 13. The information in question was published by the CNMV around 3 a.m. on Thursday 14.
On Thursday the same day, the bell was initially scheduled to ring, but in the statement released by Cox herself, she stated that the start of trading would take place no later than November 15, once again generating confusion in the market. The call for the company’s first event this Friday was only confirmed to the media on Thursday, practically at five in the afternoon.
Finally, Cox debuted with a market value of 805 million, a price that Increase the discount up to 29% with its comparablesVeolia and the Spanish Acciona.
The financing obtained through this OPS will be used to meet two capital needs, as indicated by the company in its IPO brochure. On the one hand to your strategic projectswhich is equivalent to 42.37% of its pipeline electricity production; and, on the other hand, the opportunities they identify in the water concessions and transport sector. “However,” they point out in the prospectus, “we may not be able to finance our remaining capital requirements (53%) to complete the above uses and we may also not be able to complete the Remaining 57.63% of our power generation pipeline or securing our identified opportunities as planned or not at all.
Your income statement
Although the figures are not yet audited, Cox reported in the brochure the company accounts for the first six months of the year, which show growth in the company’s activity.
Cox would have achieved between January and June an income of 306.4 million euros, which would represent an improvement over one year of 56%. EBITDA would reach 56.5 million euros, more than 300% more than the gross profit of 12.8 million euros achieved in the same period of the previous year. The company has cash of 31.8 million euros.
Dividends
The company itself has already clarified in the brochure that there will be no remuneration to its shareholders over the next three years and that it has not established a specific dividend policy. Once this period has passed, the company will evaluate whether to establish specific remuneration for its shareholders and everything will depend on the future results of the company and financing needs.
