On September 12, Allegro went public on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Its listing price leapt more than 60% in the first hours of trading, making it the biggest listed company in Warsaw with a market value of about $19 billion, Reuters reports.
Founded in 1999 by Arjan Bakker, Allegro is the largest e-commerce platform the most recognised e-commerce brand in Poland. According to MamStartup, it is visited by 20 million users monthly and the number of companies selling on the platform increased by 14% to 117,000.
“Allegro’s story started over 20 years ago in a garage in Poznan. It’s normally the story you hear in different continents. But to have this story be such a success in Poland is actually amazing,” the CEO Francois Nuyts said at the opening ceremony in Warsaw.
The net profit of Allegro from the IPO amounted to over $2.3 billion. The part of it will be used to repay the company’s outstanding debt, and the sum that will remain after refinancing will be allocated to the group’s general corporate purposes. Allegro is planning to continue the expansion of online shopping in Poland by further developing its lower fees policy and loyalty programs.
