Sphera Franchise Group benefits from the Issuer Market Maker services provided by BRK Financial Group starting with August 24

Sphera Franchise Group (SFG), the largest group in the food service industry in Romania listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, will benefit starting with August 24, from the Issuer’s Market Maker services provided by BRK Financial Group (BRK). Sphera Franchise Group owns the companies that operate KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands in Romania in a franchise system. Also, internationally, the Group operates KFC restaurants in Chisinau, the capital of the Republic of Moldova, and Italy with a total portfolio of 161 units in the three countries.

‘We are pleased by the increasing number of financial instruments that benefit from the Issuer’s Market Maker services, a total number of 15 shares and bonds, including SFG shares. It is a positive outcome both for BVB, it shows that the program is efficient and proves its usefulness towards market development, and for the investors or issuers, through its results in terms of improved liquidity and a better market position’, said Adrian Tanase, Bucharest Stock Exchange CEO.

‘Capital market activity is of strategic importance to the Sphera Franchise Group. In the past year, we have focused even more on our investors and their needs. We want Sphera to be one of the leading issuers on the Romanian capital market and increasing the liquidity of SFG shares is our priority to meet the needs of global and local investors. We are excited to start the partnership with BRK Financial Group and launch the Market Maker services for SFG shares. In the long run, we believe that our decision will positively affect all investors, whom we thank for their trust, especially throughout last year, which was an extremely challenging period for the HoReCa industry globally’, stated Valentin Budes, CFO at Sphera Franchise Group.

The Issuer’s Market Maker (IMM) activity will be performed by BRK Financial Group based on a contract signed with Sphera Franchise Group. SFG shares began trading on BVB’s Main Market on November 9^th, 2017, after the successful closing of a secondary initial public offering worth RON 285mn (EUR 62mn).

‘First of all, we congratulate Sphera Franchise Group team for using the services of a liquidity provider and we hope that the results of this partnership will become visible in a short period of time. Companies with higher liquidity attract new investors much faster, which is also reflected in the evolution of the share price, because the liquidity risk is lower, so that investors are more willing to invest their money in them. By including Sphera in our Issuer’s Market Maker client portfolio, we become market makers for six out of the seven companies that have been listed on the Main Market in the last five years, and in total we reach 12 issuers for whom we provide this service’, said Monica Ivan, BRK Financial Group CEO.

BRK becomes the Issuer’s Market Maker for 12 issues: Sphera Franchise Group, One United Properties, TTS, Bucharest Stock Exchange, Antibiotice, Aages, Impact Developer&Contractor, MedLife, Romcarbon, TeraPlast, Purcari Wineries, as well as for IMP26E bonds.