The second failed attempt in just four months by the food group Europastry to make the leap to the continuous market increases the uncertainties surrounding other IPOs underway in Spain. The company controlled by the Gallés family even proposed a reduction in the amount of the public purchase offer – initially by 30% – to try to save the operation, but in vain.
On Tuesday evening, the company announced the suspension of the process, with its IPO scheduled for today, Thursday. He justified this decision “in response to the international geopolitical situation”, putting at the forefront the growing tensions between Israel and Iran, which “produce profound instability on the markets”. This is the same argument he already used in June.
The company assured that it had “received a very good response from investors, who appreciated the trajectory of the company and its growth prospects, including a 2024 closing forecast with a turnover and a Record EBITDA”. However, the last-minute proposal to reduce the size of the operation was Europastry’s response to the predictable low demand, although among the investors who had guaranteed their support was Criteria, the industrial arm of Fundación La Caixa . In this context, in addition, a starting price in the low range was targeted, a circumstance that upset the shareholders, among whom the Gallés and the Spanish management company MCH stand out.
Regardless, the frozen pasta maker will continue “to evaluate the possibility of an IPO when the market situation allows,” he said, without setting a deadline for this. The turnaround of Europastry adds to those already achieved by Astara (Bergé) and Tendam, in June, due to market conditions.
The Catalan company’s resignation comes just a day after energy and water group Cox announced plans to debut on the Spanish stock exchange in the coming weeks (end of October). The company chaired by Enrique Riquelme aims to obtain almost 300 million euros, with a valuation of 1,200 million euros.
The company, which last year acquired the Sevillian engineering company Abengoa – formerly listed – has been working on the operation for several months and even if in the spring its managers gave themselves a deadline of up to two years to do so, they consider that now, after having negotiated the details with the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) and tested the market’s appetite, the window is sufficiently open.
The market will soon decide on Cox, which aims to become the second company to enter the Spanish continuous market in 2024. So far, the only IPO carried out this year is the one carried out at the beginning of May by the Catalan company Puig. However, its stock market performance does not help to reinforce the expectations of companies considering going public. Although he entered the Ibex 35, Puig has accumulated stock market losses close to 20% in just over five months since his debut.
Cox is taking the plunge despite the concerns that have been overwhelming the markets for months due to the crisis in the Gaza Strip and especially the prolongation of the war in Ukraine; and other uncertainties such as the United States elections or, more specifically in Cox’s case, those related to energy prices.
The particular case of Slim
This week, another company considering an IPO hinted at the geopolitical tensions sparked by Europastry. Joaquim Agut, president of Blackstone-owned gaming company Cirsa, confirmed in a Prensa Ibérica forum on Tuesday that he plans to launch the IPO in early 2025 and is working on it (see page 7). Now, he clarified that “we do not need to leave if things are not going well”, referring to the difficulties currently generated by the “macroeconomic and geopolitical environment”.
Before Cirsa, Inmocemento, the company resulting from the split of FCC’s real estate (FCYC) and cement (Cementos Portland) activities, will probably try its luck. Shareholders of the group controlled by Carlos Slim approved the segregation and IPO in July. The company has set the last quarter of the year to do this and, according to market sources, the plan is continuing. In this case, it is a unique operation, since it benefits from the support of FCC shareholders, with the Mexican tycoon at the helm, who holds more than 84% of the capital. Each FCC shareholder will receive the same number of Inmocemento shares that they own in the services and infrastructure group.
In the coming months, the market expects that Tendam, owner of brands such as Cortefiel, Springfield or Pedro del Hierro, will once again seek to enter the trading floor. A destiny that Volotea also has in its sights, whose founder and CEO, Carlos Muñoz, recognized a few weeks ago that it could “occur at any time”. Hotelbeds and Restaurant Brands Iberia are also among the candidates.
