Hungarian trucking company Waberer’s said on June 19 that it is seeking a market capitalisation of up to €350mn as it issued a pricing range for its IPO on the Budapest Stock Exchange.

The float is set to be the biggest listing on the sleepy bourse in more than a decade. Since the BSE was taken over by the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) in 2015, Waberer's has been viewed as a potential candidate to help revitalise the Hungarian stock market.

The company said in a statement that it plans to offer up to 11.7mn shares to investors overall, in a process that will end on June 29. The IPO is priced in a range of HUF5,100-6,300 per share. A total of 3mn newly issued ordinary shares will be made available, while the remainder of the float will consist of existing shares sold by CEE Transport Holding.

Final pricing will take place on June 29. The deal will create a free float of at least 50% of ordinary shares. The listing should make the company the fifth largest firm on the BSE in terms of market capitalisation.

The minimum size of the offer is targeted at €190mn, the company statement says. Up to €50mn would go to Waberer’s. The remainder would be taken by funds advised by private equity giant Mid-Europa Partners as they partially cash out.

Waberer’s pulled a planned IPO in 2015. The trucking company then looked last year to have given up entirely on the idea of listing, as Mid-Europa led a buyout, raising the stake it controls to 97.1% and delisting the company’s registration from the BSE. 

In the statement, Waberer's confirmed guidance offered earlier this month that it plans to use €32mn of the proceeds to finance the acquisition of Link, one of the fastest growing haulers in Poland. The takeover of the company would complement Waberers portfolio, analysts said. The remaining proceeds would go towards working capital financing and general purposes.

A private placement to institutional investors will be accompanied by a public offering of up to 1,379,718 existing shares, up to 617,647 new shares , and an over-allotment of up to 297,175  shares.

”This is the right time to go ahead with our growth strategy," CEO Ferenc Lajko said on June 6. "As the largest player in full truckload shipping (FTL) segment in Europe, we believe we can lead the consolidation in the sector and the acquisition is the first step in this process to strengthen our positions." The float will be managed by Citibank, Erste, Berenberg and Renaissance Partners.

Waberer is a significant player in full truckload shipping segment (FTL) with a fleet of 3,550, of which the average age is below two years. The company’s revenues rose 9.5% to €572mn last year, with ebitda up 12.1% to €73.6mn.

“It is a great pleasure for us to welcome Waberer’s to the Budapest Stock Exchange. Following its listing, Waberer’s will be one of the largest companies on the BSE and is expected to become a member of the BUX index from September,” said BSE chairman Richard Vegh. “One of the most important strategic objectives of the BSE is to attract successful domestic companies to list on the stock exchange and offer an investment opportunity for both retail and institutional investors.”