Irish shareholders in IPL Plastics, which recently began trading on the Toronto stock exchange market, are facing a potential loss of €85 million when a six-month lock-in expires next month, according to the Irish Independent.
Shares have called by 40% since it was listed on the Canadian market, with resin price inflation dragging stocks down in the plastics sector.
The group completed the IPO in July, and saw its shares fall 1.3% within four hours of doing so.
Irish shareholders hold a 45% stake in the group, formerly One 51, which used to trade as an investment company. Many shareholders inherited shares from IAWS, which transformed into One 51.
IPL listed itself on the Canadian market in an attempt to resolve long-running liquidity issue, but such an event did not occur.
Wouldn't Recommend
Speaking at an event in Dublin last week, IPL Plastics CEO, Alan Walsh, said he would not recommend the process of listing a Canadian company.
Walsh told the Enterprise Ireland/Deloitte CEO Forum at Dublin Castle that the process was very involved, added a lot of cost to the business and that shares are trading on an informal “grey market”.
"We went through an assessment process and ultimately, without going into the history, we decided that we would list on the stock exchange in Toronto, which we did at the end of June,” he told the conference.
"I wouldn't recommend anyone go through that process, it was quite involved and mainly it was because we had to go through so many steps ... given the structure that we had etc."
The group posted a €2.3 million loss in the second quarter of its 2018 fiscal year, primarily attributable to the Canadian IPO, it said.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
