Madrid, Spain, 13 November 2024 – Following the end of the book-building period, Cox ABG Group, S.A (the “Company” or “Cox” and, collectively with its subsidiaries, the “Group”), a vertically and horizontally integrated utility of water and energy, announces the pricing of its Initial Public Offering (the “IPO” or the “Offering”) at €10.23 per share. The shares will be listed on the Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao and Valencia Stock Exchanges (the “Spanish Stock Exchanges”) and will start trading under the ticker symbol “COXG” through the Automated Quotation System (“Mercado Continuo”) no later than 15 November (“Admission”).
- Cox’s IPO was priced at €10.23 per share for an Offering size of approximately €175 million without considering the Over-allotment Option and approximately €185 million assuming the exercise of the Over-allotment Option in the amount of approximately €10 million granted by the Company to Banco Santander, S.A., as stabilisation manager for the Offering (the “Stabilisation Manager”).
- The IPO offer price implies a market capitalization of approximately €805 million on Admission, assuming exercise of the Over-allotment Option in the amount of approximately €10 million. On Admission, assuming such exercise of the Over-allotment Option, Enrique Riquelme Vives (through Inversiones Riquelme Vives, S.L. and Lusaka Investments, S.L.U) will retain 63.1% of the economic rights of the Company.
Enrique Riquelme Vives, Executive Chairman of Cox, said: “We are excited to take this significant step, with today’s announcement marking a major milestone in the company’s growth journey. Despite a tough IPO market, the investor demand reflected in our pricing is testament to the value that investors see in our strategy and track-record, as well as the growth prospects ahead of us in water and energy. We’d like to thank all those who have supported us, particularly our investors, as well as the Cox team, whose vision and experience has got
us to this point.”
The Offering consisted of 17,106,549 Initial Offered Shares, resulting in approximately €175 million in primary gross proceeds for the Company. As announced, the proceeds will be deployed to finance part of the equity needs for projects in the medium-term, which are described in full detail in the Prospectus, as amended by the Supplement. This includes the expansion of the SEDA and AEB desalination plants, those water concessions identified opportunities that are awarded to Cox so as to reach a water portfolio of 2,000,000 m3/day aggregated capacity, the São Paulo and Bahia transmission concessions, those transmission concessions identified opportunities that are awarded to us so as to reach 575 kilometers of transmission concessions, as well as certain projects of the energy generation pipeline.
In addition, an Over-allotment Option of approximately €10 million will be granted by the Company, to coverver-allotments and any short positions resulting from stabilization transactions which shall last until 13 December 2024.
Based on the final Offering price of €10.23 per Share, the Company’s market capitalization on Admission will be approximately €805 million, assuming such exercise of the Over-allotment Option.
The process is progressing accordingly, and trade date is scheduled for Thursday 14 November. The admission to listing and trading of the Shares on the Spanish Stock Exchanges is scheduled by no later than 15 November.
The Company and Ondainvest, S.L. will be subject to a 180-day lock-up restriction after Admission, and Inversiones Riquelme Vives, S.L. and Lusaka Investments, S.L.U. will be subject to a 365-day lock-up restriction after Admission. Certain directors, senior managers and key employees of the Group may receive extraordinary remuneration from the Company in the form of Shares and will be subject to a lock-up period from the date they receive shares of the Company until the date falling 365 days after Admission. Certain cornerstone investors (Amea Power LLC and Corporación Cunext Industries, S.L.) will be subject to a 180-day lock-up restriction after Admission. These lock-up restrictions provide for certain exceptions and may bewaived by the Joint Global Coordinators.
Banco Santander, S.A., BofA Securities and Citigroup Global Markets Europe AG are acting as Joint Global Coordinators (together, the “Joint Global Coordinators”), and JB Capital Markets, Sociedad de Valores, S.A.U. and Alantra Capital Markets, S.V., S.A. are acting as Joint Bookrunners (together with the Joint Global Coordinators, the “Joint Bookrunners”). Banco BTG Pactual S.A. is acting as Co-lead Manager (the “Co-Lead Manager” and together with the Joint Global Coordinators and the Joint Bookrunners, the “Managers”). Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as the Company’s legal counsel and Clifford Chance, S.L.P. is acting as the Managers’ legal counsel. Lazard is acting as sole independent financial advisor.
Further details regarding the Offering are included in the Prospectus and the Supplement approved by, and registered with, the Spanish Securities Market Commission (Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores, the “CNMV”) in connection with the Offering and the inside information notice published in the CNMV’s website today (the “Inside Information Notice”). The Prospectus and the Supplement (taken together with the Inside Information Notice) includes full details on the Offering and its expected timetable and have been published and made available at the Company’s website (https://ipo.grupocox.com/key-documents/), and at the CNMV’s website (www.cnmv.es).
