Europastry, the Spain-based frozen bakery business, has put its plans for a public listing “on hold” for the second time this year.
Barcelona-headquartered Europastry announced late in September its initial public offering (IPO) was back on the cards, with a target listing date of 10 October. Book-building commenced on 27 September.
The initial plan was announced in June but was then pulled in July due to what the company said was “heightened volatility”.
A brief statement from Europastry issued yesterday (8 October) did not explain the reasons for the decision to freeze the IPO plans again. A spokesperson within the company’s investor relations division said Europastry would not be commenting further when contacted by Just Food today.
“Europastry’s management and shareholders will continue to monitor the market environment and the IPO remains a strategic objective of the company,” yesterday’s statement read.
“Further updates on the transaction will be communicated in due course.”
The company was aiming to list on the Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Valencia exchanges. All of those bourses have risen more than 10% so far this year.
The Madrid Stock Exchange General Index has climbed around 15%, while in Barcelona the BCN Global 100 gauge is up close to circa 16%.
More broadly in Europe, the MSCI Europe Index has gained around 13% in 2024, while the STOOXX All Europe Total Market Index has climbed about 7.9%.
Europastry revealed in September it was seeking to raise as much as €555m ($618.3m) from the IPO, which had been approved by the market regulator, Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV).
The business, which generated a turnover of €1.3bn in 2023, had priced the shares in an indicative range of €15.85 to €18.75.
Europastry had said it planned to use the funds raised to reduce debt and to “capture potential investments for inorganic growth opportunities, such as mergers and acquisitions”.
Founded in 1987 by Pere Gallés, the family-owned business has been active in M&A, giving the company 27 production facilities supplying more than 80 different markets.
In the IPO filing last month, Europastry revealed it struck an acquisition in March for DeWi Back Holding, a Germany-based frozen bakery products business. More recently in August, it said it snapped up De Groot Edelgebak, a Dutch distributor of frozen breads and pastries.
Other deals have included the frozen bakery business of US-based Dawn Foods in 2022, while in 2019 Europastry invested in Spanish pizza business Casa Bona. The same year it took full ownership of foodservice bakery supplier Ingapan and in 2018 acquired Portuguese business Confeitaria Torres.
With a portfolio taking in bread, pizza, pies, pastries and sandwiches, turnover grew 20% in 2023 for the owner of brands such as Dots, Sophie and Panburger.
Turnover so far this year, amounted to €714m as of the end of June, while adjusted EBITDA stood at €114m. Europastry is targeting turnover growth of low-to-mid teens for the full year.
