P3 plots fresh attempt at IPO

Prague-based logistics specialist PointPark Properties (P3) is planning a second attempt at an IPO, potentially in the third quarter of this year, CEO Ian Worboys told PropertyEU at the MIPIM real estate fair in Cannes last week.

The company, which is owned by Bahraini investment company Arcapita, abandoned its initial flotation plans in November 2012 due to a valuation gap between the vendors and potential investors.

P3 had hoped to raise roughly €300 mln through the London IPO and had planned to use the funds to acquire a property portfolio from Arcapita worth €760 mln. The rest of the purchase was to be funded through a 15% equity stake being issued in the firm to Arcapita. The flotation was promoted by investment banks Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank.

Market watchers have linked the lower valuation which investors placed upon P3 to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection proceedings involving Arcapita in the US. In March 2012, the Bahraini company became the first Gulf entity to file for Chapter 11 in the US, after it was threatened with legal action if it did not repay a hedge fund in full.

Worboys acknowledged that investors had sought to take advantage of that situation but stressed that Arcapita was under no pressure to sell. The company has been weighing its options after pulling the IPO in November and has not ruled out a private sale, he said. But a flotation was the preferred route, he added. ‘The equity market and logistics are hot again. We are well positioned to take advantage of that.’