[2008-08-04]  Tunisian Poulina Group Holding going public
Subscription Period: from July 24th and including August 6th, 2008 Poulina Group Holding (PGH), one of the largest private groups in Tunisia, which has experienced continuous growth over the past 40 years, is floating 10% of its capital via a capital increase.

The Tunis Stock Exchange Council, meeting on 7 July 2008 gave its approval for the admission of PGH to the listing.

The Financial Market Council (FMC) gave on July 16th 2008 its receipt for Price Offer prospectus, standby Commitment and admission to the main market of the Stock Exchange. Subscriptions will start on July 24th and close August 06th 2008.

The offering will be 99.2 million dinars (16,670 000 shares at a price of 5,950 Dinars).

It will be mainly reserved for the local market (51% of the operation. Of this part, 7% is reserved to the managers of Poulina).

The balance (49%) will be allocated to foreign institutional investors, under preferential syndicate. Poulina Group Holding will be the largest capitalization of the Tunis Stock Exchange.

The value of the Group, estimated by "Ernst & Young", is 1135 million dinars. A discount of 21.3% (holding discount and market discount) which brought the offering value to 892.5 million dinars.

The creation of Poulina Group Holding (PGH) is the logical step in the group's development.

The restructuring, led by Tunisie Valeurs, conducted to the grouping of the 71 subsidiaries under the control of PGH - including 15 abroad - into six different sectors of activity, namely: Poultry, Business, Agribusiness, and service, Industry, Ceramic, Packaging and Real estate.

The introduction of Poulina Group Holding to the stock market was motivated by:
- The consolidation of growth and the financing of regional expansion (financing the investments in Libya and Algeria)
- Strengthening the notoriety of the group on the nationally and international levels
- Prepare for transmission group
- Motivate and retain both the managers and the employees by associating them in the capital of the group.

The group Poulina has a sustainable and profitable development model illustrated by a strong growth that continued since its creation 42 years ago (an average annual growth rate of 35% per annum).

Its ability to generate cash has enabled the Group to finance a development marked by a diversification into industrial activities while maintaining a strong balance sheet.

According to the business plans, the Group's turnover PGH will grow at an average annual rate of 16.5% over the period 2008-2012, exceeding the billion dinars in 2009 and reaching 1.7 billion dinars in 2012.

The Net profit is expected to increase by 21.3% on average per year during the same period, from nearly 87 million dinars projected for 2008 to over 100 million dinars in 2009 and 188 million dinars in 2012.

"Becoming a shareholder of PGH, according to Abdelwahab Ben Ayed, the Group's founder and CEO, is investing in the first private holding company in the country.

It is the only North African industrial company operating across the region.

It enjoys a high visibility and generates an increasing profit.

During the last 5 years, net profits have grown by an average of 41.9% from 9,292 MD in 2002 to 53485 MD in 2007.

Most importantly, it is investing in a group that has a recognized know-how and the right human resources that constitute its main strengths."

Source: © 2008 - The Tripoli Post