(Bloomberg) -- Croatian grocery chain Studenac Group SA and its owner canceled plans for an initial public offering in Warsaw and Zagreb after losing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development as anchor investor, people familiar with the matter said.
The company and its Warsaw-based private equity owner Enterprise Investors sought to raise as much as 794 million zloty ($194 million) from the share sale, with books for the transaction scheduled to close on Wednesday. In a statement Thursday, Studenac cited “challenging” capital market conditions for the decision.
The deal collapsed after the EBRD scrapped plans to buy a stake of as much as 10% stake in the retailer, people familiar with the process said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Spokespeople for the bank didn’t respond to email requests for comment. Representatives of Studenac and Enterprise Investors declined to comment.
EBRD had signed a framework agreement with Studenac and its main shareholder for a potential investment in the company, according to its IPO prospectus.
Studenac’s intended IPO 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.
Erste Group Bank AG, Jefferies Financial Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Banco Santander SA units acted as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the share sale.
(Updates with details on EBRD participation.)
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