CZG Likely To Scale Back Prague Share Offer

CZG-Ceska Zbrojovka Group will likely cut its Prague share offering by over half due to weak demand from investors, according to three sources with knowledge of the deal, Reuters reports.

CZG, which undertook a technical listing earlier this year whereby shares were admitted to trading without raising funds, had aimed to raise up to 4.8 billion crowns by selling new and existing shares and a possible over-allotment.

It set a price range of 290 to 370 crowns per share when launching the offering.

Reuters sources said that the price would likely fall to the lower end of that range, and the offer will be scaled back to comprise mostly all new shares.

The company, which aims to use proceeds of the deal to finance U.S. expansion, had offered up to 6.9 million new shares out of its total offer of 12.99 million.

According to the sources, the details of the deal have not been finalized, and the situation could change.

CZG declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

The company, which has operations in the Czech Republic and the United States, had sought a market valuation of at least 10.7 billion crowns with the full offering being sold.

The company is a wholly-owned unit of holding company Ceska zbrojovka Partners, whose principal owner is Rene Holecek, listed as the 30th richest Czech citizen by Forbes in 2019.

The share offer in Prague, the first since Moneta Money Bank sold shares in 2016, comes when some companies are due to de-list from the stock market.