(News Bulletin 247) – The group plans to raise 28 million euros via this IPO. The shares will be listed from April 12 on Euronext Growth.

After the specialist in learning to drive online Lepermislibre, a second company will join the Paris market this year.

The soil producer Florentaise indeed announced on Wednesday the launch of its listing on Euronext Growth.

The company has communicated an indicative price range of between 9.44 euros and 12.76 euros per share. Based on the middle of this price range, or 11.1 euros per share, the ETI plans to raise around 28 million euros. This amount may be increased to €32.2 million in the event of the full exercise of an extension clause, and to €37 million in the event of the full exercise of an over-allotment option.

Kick-off April 12

The company intends to issue at least 2.52 million new shares as part of this capital increase.

The company has received a €12 million subscription commitment from Floreasy, the holding company of the family of Jean-Pascal Chupin, the group’s CEO and eldest son of the founder, Jean Chupin. The subscription of the securities will be done by offsetting claims, that is to say, to simplify, by converting debt into capital.

Excluding the extension clause and the over-allotment option, the percentage of ownership of the company by Floreasy would drop from 99.85% to 83.66% after this IPO.

According to the calendar provided by the company, the listing of Florentaise shares on Euronext Growth, a compartment of the Paris Stock Exchange dedicated to SMEs and ETIs, should begin on April 12.

Founded in 1973, Florentaise is an ETI which employs 245 people. Its some 600 references in own brands or private labels are sold in major brands, such as Truffaut, Botanic, Lidl, or Intermarché. The company claims that it represents one in five bags of potting soil sold to the general public and that it covers 12% of the professional market.

Preserve the peat

Its revenues amounted to 57.5 million euros for its last full financial year, ended June 30, 2022, with average annual growth of 20% over the last three financial years, for an operating margin of 5% and a profit of nearly 930,000 euros. It is targeting 13% growth for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, with 65 million in revenue.

The company highlights its expertise in low-carbon potting soil, which avoids the use of peat. This plant material is widely used in global production, up to 60% of growing media sold today, according to Florentaise. However, peat takes several thousand years to form in wetlands called peat bogs.

Consequently, Florentaise has developed alternative solutions, based on wood chips and bark, which the company claims have a carbon footprint 20 to 50 times lower than the peat it replaces. Florentaise ensures that, at the end of June 2022, 77% of the raw materials used for the production of its potting soils did not contain peat.

Increase production capacity

The company explains that it intends to use the funds from its IPO for different purposes. In particular, it intends to finance its current working capital requirement as well as its capital expenditure to increase its production capacity in order to serve its European and Chinese markets.

In addition, the proceeds from the capital increase will also enable it to finance new “Twin-screw” machines. These machines make it possible to manufacture wood fibers to replace peat.

In its strategy, in addition to the sale of potting soil, the group intends to develop the deployment in Europe and the United States of these “Twin-screw” machines with other potting soil manufacturers, on the principle of rental. “Revenues from this activity should represent 3.4 million euros at the end of June 2024 and should weigh 20% of the estimated consolidated turnover by 2027”, explains the company.