Vivo Energy, a retailer and marketer of Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LON:RDSA) branded fuels and lubricants in Africa, has announced plans to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange and the secondary inward market of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in May 2018.
The group said it has Shell-branded retail operations in 15 countries across Africa with 227mln consumers and had a 23% share of its markets in 2017.
Further grow and strengthen position across Africa
The float will see the company undertake a 100% secondary sell-down of existing shares by selling shareholders with no proceeds going to the firm.
Vivo Energy expects to have a free float following admission of at least 25% and expects to be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE UK indices.
In conjunction with the intention to float, Vivo Energy announced the appointment of John Daily, chairman of soft drink maker Britvic PLC (LON:BVIC), as its chairman.
Established in December 2011 through the carve-out of Shell's African downstream business excluding South Africa and Egypt, the firm said it believes the IPO is a “logical step in the development of Vivo Energy and appropriate given the Group’s current scale and level of maturity.”
The group recently agreed a share transaction with Engen which, subject to regulatory approval, will add nine new retail countries and more than 300 service stations to its portfolio.
In 2017, Vivo Energy's underlying earnings (EBITDA) were US$326mln, up from US$286mln in 2016.
Christian Chammas, the group's CEO, said: “Bringing Vivo Energy to the public markets will enable us to further grow the business and strengthen our market leading position across Africa.”