EiDF Solar picks banks to handle float on Spain's main stock market – sources

Energia Innovacion Y Desarrollo Fotovoltaico SA

14/02/2023 18:40

By Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro and Andres Gonzalez
       LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - EiDF Solar  EIDF.MC  has
selected banks, including Bank of America, Banco Santander and
Societe Generale, to help it raise cash and list on Spain's main
stock market in the next few months, two sources familiar with
the matter told Reuters.
    The planned listing will end a prolonged hiatus in initial
public offerings (IPO) on Spain's main market since renewables
company Opdenergy's  OPDE.MC  lackluster debut in July.
    EiDF Solar, which installs solar panels, currently trades on
the junior market of the BME Exchange and plans to relist its
shares on the senior stock market, known as Mercado Continuo.
    Founded in 2008, EiDF debuted on BME Growth, a trading venue
for start-up companies, in 2021. Last year, it announced plans
to move its listing, hiring Lazard  LAZ.N  to line up
underwriters for the float.
    Banks were recently appointed after being invited to pitch
for a role in the deal, the sources said.
    Bank of America  BAC.N , Santander  SAN.MC  and Societe
Generale  SOGN.PA  declined to comment. EiDF did not immediately
respond to a request for comment.
    The group must place more shares with investors to meet a
25% minimum free-float requirement for the country's main
market.
    About 15% of the stock is currently held by public equity
investors, with chief executive Fernando Romero holding a
majority stake, as per its latest quarterly report.
    Shares in EiDF, one of the most actively traded stocks on
BME Growth, have rocketed since its stock market debut in 2021.
    They closed on Tuesday at 28.44 euros, up from the 4.20
euros paid by investors in its initial float, implying a market
capitalisation of roughly 1.6 billion euros ($1.71 billion).
    Based in northwestern Spain, the company started out
installing solar panels for other businesses but now develops
its own solar farms as well.
    It posted third-quarter 2022 revenues of 315.54 million
euros, up from 30.55 million euros the previous year, and
earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation
(EBITDA) of 46.86 million euros, up from 7.10 million euros.
    Europe's IPO activity almost ground to a halt last year amid
soaring interest rates and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but
there are signs that companies are again considering going
public.
    Earlier this month, German web hosting services provider
IONOS  IOSn.DE  and Italian industrials firm EuroGroup
Laminations  EGLA.MI  listed part of their shares on their home
countries' stock markets, with mixed results in the aftermarket.
    Spanish construction materials company Cosentino is working
with JPMorgan  JPM.N  and Goldman Sachs  GS.N  to list its
shares on the stock market in 2023, according to two sources
close to the Cosentino IPO.
($1 = 0.9331 euros)
 (Reporting by Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro and Andres Gonzalez; editing
by Dhara Ranasinghe and Jane Merriman)
 ((Pablo.MayoCerqueiro@thomsonreuters.com;))