Bulgaria’s ELG raises 5 mln euro in bond IPO

Sofia: July 25 (SeeNews) – Bulgarian car lease, rental and sale group ELG raised some 5 million euro ($5.4 million) in an oversubscribed initial public offering (IPO) of a five-year corporate bond issue on the BEAM growth market of the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), it said on Thursday.

On July 24, ELG issued 5,000 ordinary, secured, freely transferable bonds at an issue price of 1,000 euro each, equal to their par value, the company said in a press release. The bonds were subscribed primarily by institutional investors, including banks, mutual and investment funds, as well as individual investors.

The placement carries a floating coupon based on three-month EURIBOR plus 6.15%, but not lower than 7.15% and not higher than 10% annually. Coupon payments are due quarterly, while the principal will have a one-year grace period.

The raised funds will be used to expand ELG’s brands managing the online platforms Uplease and Amigo Leasing in Bulgaria, as well as Eurolease Auto in North Macedonia.

“We are focused on the development of innovative and digital business models that positively change a traditional market such as the automotive one in terms of customer satisfaction, convenience and digitalisation,” investor Asen Asenov said.

The company’s portfolio also includes online store for used cars CAZAM, car-as-a-service car rental platform SIMPL and used car dealer Autoplaza.

Local investment firm ELG Capital owns a 67% stake in ELG.

At the end of 2023, ELG managed assets of 86 million levs ($47.7 million/44 million euro), while its leasing portfolio stood at 51.7 million levs. The company booked a net profit of nearly 7 million levs last year, including 5.8 million levs from the sale of a subsidiary. This year, ELG expects an increase of over 25% in its leasing portfolios.