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A currency dealer, wearing a mask to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), works in front of electronic boards showing the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and South Korean won, at a bank in Seoul, South Korea, September 10, 2020. Kim Hong-Ji, Reuters
PRAGUE - Czech Republic-based turbine manufacturer Doosan Skoda Power launched an initial public offering on Monday, seeking to raise up to 2.74 billion crowns ($114.5 million) by selling around a third of its shares in a Prague listing.
The company, whose ultimate parent is South Korea's Doosan Corp, serves customers including energy groups CEZ , EPH and Orlen, reaching markets in Asia and South America as well as the Czech Republic and Europe.
It made a profit of 559.3 million crowns on revenue of 4.8 billion crowns in 2023.
Prague Stock Exchange has seen a dearth of big listings in recent years, and Doosan Skoda Power's market capitalisation will likely put it on the lower end of the bourse's main index.
The offer will consist of existing and new shares, with the price range set at 220-260 crowns per share. Final pricing is expected by Feb. 6.
Sole shareholder Doosan Power Systems will offer up to 6.67 million existing shares, or 23% of Doosan Skoda Power's existing share capital.
Doosan Skoda Power is also offering up to 2.9 million new shares, which would increase its total number of shares to 31.9 million, valuing the firm at 8.3 billion crowns at the upper end of the IPO price range.
Up to 957,000 shares will also be available in an overallotment, the company said. The company would raise 2.53 billion crowns if all shares were sold and priced at the midpoint of the range.
Doosan Power Systems will still own at least 67% of the company after completing the offering.
Proceeds will go towards mid-term investments, while the company also aims to lift its profile with the listing.
It comes as the Czech government and majority state-owned CEZ look in the coming months to conclude talks with South Korea's KHNP, which was chosen last year as the preferred builder of new nuclear power units in what will be the central European country's largest ever energy investment.
Doosan Skoda Power noted that project as a possible future business driver in its prospectus published on Monday.
For the first nine months of 2024, Doosan Skoda Power generated revenue of 3.9 billion crowns and a profit of 355 million crowns, which was steady versus the same period in 2023.
It said it would apply a dividend payout ratio policy of at least 70% of net income.
($1 = 23.9380 Czech crowns)
(Reporting by Jason Hovet. Editing by Jan Harvey and Mark Potter)
