The London stock market is set to be bolstered by its first new company listing of scale in some time if WE Soda gets its proposed IPO (initial public offering) away. Interestingly, the company plans to offer retail investors an opportunity to get in on the ground floor through the PrimaryBid platform.

Despite its name, the company has nothing to do with fizzy pop, it is instead a speciality chemicals business and the world’s number one producer of natural soda ash. Soda ash is derived from a mineral called trona and has a multitude of industrial uses from the production of glass and detergents to pharmaceuticals and food.

Operating two facilities in Turkey, WE Soda produces more than five million tonnes of soda ash every year, sold to more than 100 industrial customers in 80-odd countries. It hopes to raise new capital to repay loans owed to Turkish parent Ciner Group, reduce debt and assist funding plans for a $5 billion production upgrade by 2030, which would more than double its current output.

‘WE Soda is an extraordinary business supplying essential products to support the energy transition’, says chief executive Alasdair Warren.

The principal shareholder in the company is currently Turkish media mogul Turgay Ciner and he is expected to retain a holding equivalent to two thirds of the business following the IPO.

WE Soda hopes to list its shares on the premium segment of the London market with a minimum free float of 10% of the business, with various reports pitching a market valuation of between $7.5 billion to $8.5 billion (£6 billion to £6.85 billion). This could make it eligible for inclusion in some FTSE UK indices.

London listings have dried up dramatically over the past 18-months, leaving investors with little more than scraps to feed on. According to consultancy EY, in the first three months of 2021 the UK stock market saw just five issues raising a paltry £81 million. In 2022 just £1.6 billion was raised, less than 10% of the £1.6 billion raised the previous year.

It is too soon to call a turn of the tide but there have been glimmers of IPO interest. For example, US hedge fund Mudrick Capital is eyeing a £300 million capital raise to list an investment trust that, according to reports, would invest in distressed credit in the US. Fund services minnow Amicorp has also announced its intention to float, while fintech investment firm Ashington Innovations (ASHI) listed on 6 June. [SF]

‹ Previous2023-06-08Next ›