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Investing.com - On its debut on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) at 12:00 pm AEST on Thursday, shares of Guzman Y Gomez opened at $30. This marked a significant 36% gain from its initial public offering (IPO) price of $22 per share.
Factors such as a heavily oversubscribed IPO, a tightly held register, and the absence of a general public offer may have contributed to the strong opening.
Despite being one of the most divisive IPOs in recent history, the $2.2 billion IPO is one of the largest listings in 11 months and a welcome addition to the rapidly shrinking ASX.
However, the burrito business' listing comes with a price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 550 and an enterprise valuation of 32.5-times pro forma EBITDA for the next financial year, which seems high compared to peers like Domino's Pizza, which trades at a PE of 97.
Despite the criticism, Guzman Y Gomez's shares opened 36% higher to $30.00 at 12:00 pm AEST. The IPO details include an offer price of $22.00 per share, total proceeds from the offer amounting to $335 million, and an indicative market cap of $2.23 billion.
However, despite these positive numbers, the IPO has faced backlash from various quarters, with criticisms focusing on its high valuation, pre-IPO raising, disregarding of lease liabilities in the earnings metrics, and the absence of a general public offer.
According to reports, the IPO was 20 times oversubscribed, which means that while the company aimed to raise $335 million, institutional investors were willing to invest as much as $6.7 billion.
With the company's plans to open more than 1,000 stores in Australia over the next 20 years, including 30 new restaurants per annum, increasing to 40 stores per annum within five years, only time will tell if the business can deliver on its promises and maintain its current momentum.
