KYIV, November 6, 2007 – Creativ Group, one of the most successful players on the fats and oils market in Ukraine, has placed 23.4% of its shares among foreign portfolio investors, raising $30m. The transaction puts the company’s market capitalization at $128m.
Kyiv-based Delphi Capital, Ukrainian specialized investment
company, acted as sole financial adviser and joint lead
manager together with Dragon Capital on the placement
transaction. The private placement in Creativ Group
attracted more than 15 investment funds and private
investors from across Europe. The shares are listed on the
PFTS (PFTS: CREA), Ukraine’s premiere stock exchange, with
listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Bloomberg: 4C8A GR)
via Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) to give investors
greater liquidity and expose Creativ Group stock to a
broader circle of international investors.
The placement of Creativ Group shares marks the first such
transaction in Ukraine’s fats and oils market and highlights
considerable investor sentiment in the sector. Over the past
three years, Creativ Group management has achieved 47%
average annual growth in sales with plans to maintain this
momentum through 2009. At present the company strategy
involves assuming domestic market leadership and increasing
market share in the CIS in the near term as well as moving
into other promising areas such as hybrid fuels and soybean
and rapeseed processing.
All of the funds raised in the placement will go to
replenish the company’s working capital. In the words of
Creativ Group CEO Yuriy Davidov, the increased capital will
allow the company to build a new soybean protein processing
plant (to come online in 2H2008) and improve the company’s
logistics operations. Furthermore, the company intends to
expand its oilseed processing capacities to 290,000 tons per
year and gradually integrate the company’s production
facilities with its own agricultural production.
“The private placement is an important step in the growth of
our company,” Davidov says. “This represents the first step
towards the creation of a truly public company and forms a
vital part of our business development strategy, which will
allow us to continue our present rate of growth and achieve
net sales of $400m by 2009.”
Serhiy Syvoplyas, Delphi Capital Managing Director, says
that “the market capitalization of Creativ Group currently
has a substantial growth potential”. ”The Company made its
best to attract the investors; in particular, corporate
restructuring, as well as international audit for the last
three years was completed, and the Bank of New York issued
GDRs that were listed on Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The
corporate governance structure of the Group is now built in
accordance with international standards. We are proud to
have participated in the implementation of the Group’s
financial strategy”, said Mr. Syvoplyas. |
