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Croatian Grocery Chain Studenac Cancels IPO on ‘Challenging Conditions’

(Bloomberg) -- Croatian grocery chain Studenac Group SA and its owner withdrew plans to sell shares in Warsaw and Zagreb, citing “challenging” conditions on capital markets.

The company and its Warsaw-based private equity owner Enterprise Investors proposed to raise 794 million zloty ($194 million) from the share sale, with books for the transaction scheduled to close on Wednesday.

Studenac’s intended initial public offering came weeks after Zabka Group SA, Poland’s largest convenience stores chain, made its share-trading debut in Warsaw. Zabka shares are 12% below the IPO price, even after rising 4.1% on Thursday. The Croat retailer’s decision cools hopes for a revival of IPOs on the Polish market amid a 6.5% slump in the local benchmark WIG20 index this year.

“Due to the challenging conditions in the capital markets, we — together with our majority shareholder — have decided not to proceed with the IPO of the company’s shares,” Studenac Chief Executive Officer Michal Senczuk said in a statement. “It’s possible that, in the future, when market conditions are more favorable, we will revisit plans for an initial public offering and the listing of Studenac shares on the stock exchange.”

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