Bucharest Stock Exchange second in region by number of IPOs

The listing of Digi Communications and AAGES places Romania second in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) by the number of initial public offerings (IPO) after the Warsaw capital market, the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) said in a release.

"The Bucharest Stock Exchange is second in the Central and Eastern European capital market where initial public offerings (IPO) have been successfully concluded in the second quarter of this year, for a cumulative amount of over 208 million euro, according to BVB. The Warsaw Stock Exchange is on the first position with six IPOs with an aggregate amount of 542 million euro, followed by the Bucharest Stock Exchange with two offerings - Digi Communications and AAGES, as per IPO Watch Europe Q2 2017” shows a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

A total of 103 IPOs unfolded in Europe in Q2 for an average amount of 215 million euro. The Digi Communications IPO of 207 million euro is close to the European IPO average of this period.

The evolution of the Bucharest Stock Exchange in the first six months of 2017, considered in a regional context, reflects the progressively increasing market dynamics and openness of Romanian companies to listing. We obviously have to deal with a process. Over the next half of the year, a new issuer will probably enter trading. This evolution reflects the gradual maturing of the capital market and a change in optics from the perspective of both companies and investors. At the same time, we draw the attention of entrepreneurs not to miss this unique opportunity of financing via the capital market and thus acquire a new business dimension, said BVB CEO Ludwik Sobolewski, as cited in the release.

Digi Communications (DIGI ticker), a major provider of telecommunication services in Romania and Hungary, entered BVB trading on May 16, 2017, following the successful completion of the largest IPO launched by a private company on the Romanian capital market, worth over 944 million le i (207 million euro).

AAGES (ticker AAG), a company that designs and manufactures induction heating systems for a wide range of applications, entered BVB trading on June 19, 2017, following an offering whereby the shareholders sold 15 pct of the company for 5.49 million lei (1.2 million euro).