Australian fast food chain Guzman y Gomez seeks to raise $161 mln in June IPO (updated)

Redox

31/05/2024 03:21

(Adds deal milestone from paragraph 4 and executive comments
from paragraph 7)
    By Scott Murdoch
       SYDNEY, May 31 (Reuters) - Australian fast food chain
Guzman y Gomez (GYG) is aiming to raise A$242.5 million ($160.75
million) in a June initial public offering, according to a
company statement on Friday, in a deal that would be the
country's largest new share sale in a year.
    GYG is looking to sell 11.1 million shares at A$22 each
which will value the food chain that specialises in Mexican food
at A$2.2 billion.
    The deal will be made up of A$200 million in primary
proceeds and A$42.5 million from a secondary selldown from some
existing shareholders.
    A raising of the proposed size would make GYG's IPO the
largest in almost a year, since Redox  RDX.AX  raised in A$404
million in mid-2023.
    Australian IPO activity fell 75% in the first quarter of
2024, according to LSEG data, as the result of volatile global
financial markets dimming the confidence of companies and
investors to buy into new deals.
        GYG raised A$135 million in a pre-IPO funding ealier
this year which valued the business at A$18 a share or A$1.76
billion, according to the company's executives. The round bought
in QVG Capital, Firetrail Investments, Cooper Investors and
Hyperion Asset Management as investors.
        "There were requests at the time for significantly more
stock than we could accommodate," GYG's co-chief executive
Hilton Brett told Reuters.
        "Our pre-IPO investors have long had a strong preference
for us to be listed. We have been preparing for a long time, the
business is ready and we have been trading very well."
     The four pre-IPO round investors, along with Aware Super,
are cornerstone shareholders, whose demand has fully
underwritten the IPO. The ownership of those five investors will
be scaled back after the deal is completed.
    Institutional shareholders TDM Growth Partners and
Barrenjoey Private Capital will remain on the share registry
after the IPO.
    GYG began in Sydney in 2006 and now has more than 200
restaurants globally, according to its website
    GYG's board, senior management and existing major
shareholders will represent about 62% of the company's issued
capital on a fully diluted basis after the IPO, the company
said.
    GYG shares will start trading on the Australian Securities
Exchange on June 20.
($1 = 1.5085 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Christopher Cushing,
Muralikumar Anantharaman and Lincoln Feast.)
 ((Scott.Murdoch@thomsonreuters.com;))