IPO for Online Tyre Retailer Oponeo.pl

Polish online tyre and automotive products retailer Oponeo.pl plans to issue up to 4 million new shares in an upcoming IPO and spend the proceeds on boosting working capital and the development of its IT systems, the company’s chief executive Dariusz Topolewski informed a press conference on July 5.

“We want to raise around a dozen million zloty (£2.15 million) in the IPO, maybe more,” Topolewski said. “We will offer up to 4 million new shares to investors.” The company’s equity is currently divided into around 8.676 million shares, and therefore founding shareholders will thus continue to control the business. They have also not ruled out buying more shares in the IPO. Current shareholders have a 12-month lock-up for their shares.

Oponeo.pl achieved net profits of PLN 1 million (£179,000) in 2006, up from PLN 135,000 (£24,000) a year earlier. Total revenue was PLN 29.8 million (£5.3 million), an increase of 70.29 per cent in 2005. The company estimates that it holds at least 60 per cent of Poland’s online tyre sale market and between 1 and 1.5 per cent of the country’s total tyre market.