|
 The stock started trading below the offer price at 18 euros and
slipped up to 16.36 euros in early trading, while Germany's bluechip
index traded 0.5 percent higher.
The online retailer, which makes the bulk of its sales by selling
baby food to Chinese customers, had priced its shares the day before
at 18.50 euros after offering them in a range of 16.50 euros to
20.50 euros apiece.
"Shares in a China milk powder retailer are not necessarily a
must-have," a capital markets banker said.
But Windeln.de's Chief Financial Officer defended the company's
set-up.
"Investors see the large growth potential we have in China. That
market is huge," he said.
The weak debut struck some investors with surprise as Windeln.de had
brought the debut forward by two days citing strong demand.
Set up in 2010, Windeln.de wanted to take advantage of buoyant
equities markets. Shares of online fashion retailer Zalando have
risen 27 percent and those in ecommerce company Rocket Internet have
surged 19 percent since their listings in October.
As part of the offering, Windeln.de is raising its capital by up to
127 million euros including an overallotment option, while some of
its current shareholders sold stock worth 84 million.
[to top of second column] |
Windeln.de sees potential for growth in Germany, where so far only
one in five childcare products is sold via the internet. It also
wants to use proceeds from the IPO to enter markets in other
countries and make acquisitions.
The retailer, which sells diapers, baby food, children's clothing
and toys, is growing rapidly, but big investments led to a 2014 loss
before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of
11 million euros on sales of 101 million euros.
The group worked with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank
and Goldman Sachs on the IPO, alongside Commerzbank and Berenberg.
(Reporting by Arno Schuetze; editing by Thomas Atkins)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
