Steinhoff ’s Pepco to list in Warsaw

Steinhoff, the SA-based consumer goods retailer that is still battling the fallout from the 2017 accounting scandal, will list its EU discount retailer Pepco on May 26 as part of its efforts to reduce its more than €10bn (about R173bn) worth of debt.

Pepco, which trades from more than 3,200 stores across 16 countries in Europe, would sell 17.5% of its shares to retail and institutional investors at a price range of between €8.35 (R145) and €10.11 (R175) each, Steinhoff said yesterday.

The price range implied a market valuation of between €4.8bn (R83.15bn) and €5.8bn (R95.27bn), it said.

The final amount of shares and the offer price are expected on May 14.

Pepco, which owns the Pepco and Dealz brands in Europe and the Poundland brand in the UK, will list on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in Poland, which is its biggest market.

The market reacted positively to the news, sending Steinhoff shares up 8.42% to R2.19, its biggest intraday jump since March 31, before easing slightly to trade 7% higher to R2.16 at 10.07am.

Rocked by one of the biggest corporate scandals in recent years, Steinhoff has previously said it was also weighing the option of listing the Fantastic Group, Australia’s furniture and bedding retailer.

The SA company is also saddled with legal claims, amounting to more than R130bn, stemming from the precipitous decline in the value of its share price in late 2017, when the news of the accounting scandal came to light, prompting the resignation of then CEO Markus Jooste.