Scott Murdock
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian fast food chain Guzman y Gomez (GYG) aims to raise A$242.5 million ($160.75 million) in an initial public offering in June, the company said on Friday, in a deal that will become the largest in the country. new sale of shares in a year.
GYG plans to sell 11.1 million shares at A$22 each, valuing the Mexican food chain at A$2.2 billion.
The transaction will consist of A$200 million in primary proceeds and A$42.5 million in secondary sale proceeds to certain existing shareholders.
The increase in proposed size will make GYG’s biggest IPO in almost a year, with Redox raising A$404 million in mid-2023.
IPO activity in Australia fell 75% in the first quarter of 2024 as a result of volatile global financial markets, which weakened the confidence of companies and investors to pursue new deals, according to LSEG.
GYG raised A$135 million in pre-IPO funding earlier this year, valuing the business at A$18 per share, or A$1.76 billion, company executives said. QVG Capital, Firetrail Investments, Cooper Investors and Hyperion Asset Management were acquired as investors.
“At the time, there were requests for significantly more shares than we could allocate,” GYG co-chief executive Hilton Brett told Reuters.
“Our pre-IPO investors have long preferred our listing. We have been preparing for a long time, the business is ready, and we are trading very well.”
The four pre-IPO investors, as well as Aware Super, are the cornerstone shareholders whose demand fully underpinned the IPO. Once the deal is completed, the stake of these five investors will be reduced.
Institutional shareholders TDM Growth Partners and Barrenjoey Private Capital will remain on the share register following the IPO.
GYG started in Sydney in 2006 and now has more than 200 restaurants worldwide, according to its website.
GYG’s board of directors, senior management and existing major shareholders will represent approximately 62% of the company’s issued capital on a fully diluted basis following the IPO, the company said.
GYG shares will begin trading on the Australian Securities Exchange on June 20.
($1 = 1.5085 Australian dollars)