Hungarian trucking company Waberer’s International is preparing for an IPO on the Budapest Stock Exchange in July, according to media claims.
If accurate, the reports will be hugely welcome in the Hungarian capital. Waberer’s has been touted as the leading private candidate to help revive the BSE via a float since the Magyar Nemzeti Bank took over the bourse in late 2015. Several other names identified to bne IntelliNews appear to have fallen back from any likely action in the near future.
Waberer’s had looked to have given up on its IPO plans last year, when private equity fund Mid-Europa Partners raised its stake to 97.1% and delisted the transport company’s shares from the BSE.
However, Mid-Europa has now appointed Citibank, Erste, Berenberg and Renaissance Partners to set up the float, “people familiar with the plans” told the Financial Times. Waberer’s is expected to have a market capitalisation of more than €500mn, which would make it the biggest IPO in Hungary in more than a decade, the newspaper claims.
Certainly, it appears a good time to strike. Hungary’s main BUX index has hit all-time highs in recent weeks, as strong economic growth meets loose monetary policy. The index was among the top global performers in the last two years, rising 37.8% in 2016 after a 40% increase in 2015.
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