Allegro prepares IPO

The major Polish ecommerce platform Allegro has announced its intention to apply for listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Should the company proceed with the initial public offering, it would become the largest IPO of Poland.

With the offering, the group wants to repay part of its outstanding debt. At the end of the first half of 2020, Allegro had a net debt that was 3.7 times its adjusted EBITDA. The Polish company also wants to expand the share of goods that are delivered within one or two days after being ordered, increase its fintech activities, increase its public profile and brand awareness, create a new long-term shareholder base and liquidity for existing and future shareholders.

10-12 billion euros

Advisers are targeting a valuation of between €10 billion and €12 billion, Financial Times writes. The listing will include the sale of new shares worth around 225 million euros, and a second part in which private equity groups and some company directors and managers will sell down some of their existing stakes.

At the moment, the biggest IPO in Poland was in 2010, when insurer PZU raised 2.1 billion euros. Allegro’s flotation is expected to take place next month.

Advisers are targeting a valuation of between 10 and 12 billion euros.

Allegro’s GMV grew 25% in 2019

Allegro, founded in 1999, is the most popular ecommerce platform in Poland. Its gross merchandise volume increased by 25 percent last year, while the rest of the ecommerce industry in Poland grew ‘just’ 16 percent. Allegro has 12.3 million active buyers and is used by around 117,000 merchants. Together, they take part in about 32 million transactions every month.