Gens Aurea: OroCash to go public in July, targeting Germany and 750 shops by 2029 -2-

Private placement for institutional investors: the Dvc fund is being offered for sale

From a financial perspective, the IPO will take the form of a private placement reserved for institutional investors, in which shares held by the controlling shareholder, Mattina Holding – the vehicle for the DVC funds – will be sold: Gens Aurea will therefore derive no direct proceeds from the IPO. The offer includes a greenshoe option for the underwriting banks and a post-placement lock-up for the main shareholders. It remains to be seen how investors’ valuation of the company will compare with recent market valuations: last year, the US giant FirstCash, which has a market capitalisation of $10 billion on the Nasdaq and trades at around 13 times EBITDA, put approximately $400 million on the table to acquire the British H&T Group, valuing it at around 7.6 times (post-dividend). Gens Aurea’s business plan aims to reach €2.4 billion in turnover by 2029 (an average annual growth of 17 per cent) with a stable EBITDA margin of around 14 per cent, expanding the retail network to 750 outlets through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth. The dividend policy aims to distribute “at least 60%” of profits. According to Mergermarket, the company’s valuation could reach 1.4 billion euros.

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