Timing seen as not conducive to a successful initial public offering for the bulk haulage firm, as market shuns mining
November 28, 2103
The planned Bis Industries stock market float has been shelved.
Its owner, private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), had been expected to go to the market next month in an initial public offering (IPO) for the mining haulage firm.
But Bis CEO Ian Lynass says that while his company received strong interest from potential investors locally and overseas, the decision not to proceed with the IPO was driven by broader market concerns about the resources sector and companies associated with the sector.
This was despite Bis Industries operating solely in the production phase of the commodities project cycle in Australia, with ongoing growth in production volumes of commodities such as iron ore and coal expected.
“The feedback I have had from investors is that, whilst they acknowledge that Bis Industries is a high quality business with a strong and attractive market position, the current negative sentiment around resources expenditure is impacting on all companies exposed to the sector,” Lynass says.
“Given Bis Industries’ focus on the production phase logistics, our operations continue to perform in line with expectations and we remain positive on our growth prospects.
“However, we recognise investor sentiment is not currently conducive to an IPO and therefore have elected to not proceed at this time.”