Pilulka completes IPO, demand exceeds supply by 536 pct

Prague, Oct 20 (CTK) - Pharmaceutical and technology company Pilulka Lekarny completed the initial public offering (IPO) process on the Prague Stock Exchange's (BCPP) Start market today, with investor demand being 536 percent bigger than the number of shares offered, the BCPP told CTK.

Pilulka Lekarny offered 725,040 shares at the highest price of its Kc350-Kc424 range, with the company's value at Kc1.06bn. It got Kc307.417m from investors, which makes it the Start market's best IPO.

Trading will start on October 26, with the opening price at Kc424, the BCPP said.

"Pilulka is a great company for the Prague bourse because it combines e-commerce and the pharmaceutical sector, which is an excellent mix especially now," BCPP head Petr Koblic said.

The goal is to secure capital for companies and bring interesting investment opportunities, which worked out great in the case of Pilulka, Wood & Company Financial Services partner Jan Sykora said.

Wood & Company Financial Services will support Pilulka when it decides to switch to BCPP's main market, Sykora said.

"We have believed in Pilulka's success since the beginning," Patria Finance CEO Petr Jaros said.

The current period is accelerating a change in the thinking of customers, and Pilulka is ready for it, he added.

"I am particularly glad at the interest of some of our private clients," Jaros said.

The Pilulka pharmacy chain is active in Czechia, Slovakia and Romania. In H1, its sales grew by 45 percent to Kc1.6bn, with online sales up by 68 percent and bricks-and-mortar sales by about 30 percent, the company said in August.

Pilulka operates 155 pharmacies in Czechia and one in Slovakia, and online pharmacies Pilulka.cz, Pilulka.sk and Pilulka.ro.

The Start market is for emerging small and medium-sized enterprises.

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