Giant of Polish e-commerce, Allegro Group, has announced its intention to conduct an initial public offering of its shares, which will be targeted at institutional and retail investors. According to experts, its stock exchange debut may be the largest in the history of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Allegro wants to obtain about PLN 1 billion from the issue of shares, which will allow the company to pay off some of its debt, strengthen its financial position and support development plans. Its strategy assumes further investments in servicing buyers and sellers, but the group does not rule out international expansion either.

“Allegro is a very popular brand in Poland. About 12 million Poles shop here, we have over 100,000 of salespeople – small and medium-sized enterprises that sell daily. That is why entering the Warsaw Stock Exchange is a natural step for Allegro,” François Nuyts, president of Allegro, said.

In the last 20 years, the giant of the Polish e-commerce market has transformed from a local start-up into a large European player. Recently, with nearly 194 million views per month, Allegro has entered the top ten e-commerce websites in the world. In Poland, the company has 3 percent of share in the entire domestic retail market, worth approx. PLN 621 billion. Estimates assume that by 2024 its value will increase to PLN 724 billion (i.e. over $180 billion). This creates significant opportunities to increase the share of consumer spending – especially as Poland is one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in the world and still has great growth potential.

“This is a good time for Allegro to debut on the stock exchange. Being listed on the WSE seemed a natural step from the very beginning. Our current investors are three private equity funds that acquired Allegro about four years ago. Their investments typically last four to six years. However, they will still have shares in Allegro and will support us in further investments and business development,” François Nuyts added.

(Newseria)