Shopping center owner Phillips Edison opens flat in Nasdaq debut (updated)

Phillips Edison & Company

15/07/2021 17:08

(Adds IPO details, other background)
    July 15 (Reuters) - Phillips Edison & Co Inc's  PECO.O 
shares opened flat at $28 in their Nasdaq debut on Thursday,
giving the owner and operator of omnichannel shopping centers a
valuation of more than $3 billion.
    The real estate investment trust (REIT) on Wednesday raised
$476 million through the sale of 17 million shares in its
initial price offering, in which it had aimed to sell the stock
between $28 and $31 each.
    The listing comes at a time when brick-and-mortar retailers
are still recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,
which could in turn weigh on REITs like Phillips Edison. 
    The company's portfolio is chiefly focused on grocers who
use an omnichannel sales approach that seeks to offer customers
a uniform experience, whether they are shopping online or at
physical stores.
    Phillips Edison, which was founded in 1991 and purchased its
first shopping center in Virginia a year later, currently counts
Trader Joe's, Kroger Co  KR.N , Walmart Inc  WMT.N , Walgreens
Boots Alliance  WBA.O  and Starbucks Corp  SBUX.O  among its
more than 5,000 tenants.      
    The REIT was born in its present form after Phillips Edison
Grocery Center REIT I Inc acquired Phillips Edison Limited
Partnership's real estate assets and asset management business
in 2017.   
    Morgan Stanley, BofA Securities and J.P. Morgan are the lead
joint book-running managers for the offering.

 (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by
Ramakrishnan M. and Amy Caren Daniel)
 ((Niket.Nishant@thomsonreuters.com;))