Romania’s largest network of agricultural stores listed on BVB AeRO market

Agroland Business System, the company that operates the largest network of agricultural stores in Romania, was listed on March 1 on AeRO Market, within the Multilateral Trading System (SMT) of Bucharest Stock Exchange. The company’s listing comes almost nine months after Agroland took its first step on BVB, by listing its first bond issue in June 2020.

“Agroland is a successful example for many entrepreneurs, both for the development of the company and in the fact that it has run two rounds of funding through the stock exchange in less than a year. We are talking about a total of 16 million lei, money attracted in a tense period and full of uncertainties regarding the economy, as a result of the pandemic. These rounds of financing prove once again that the capital market is a viable and inexhaustible channel for financing companies with sustainable development plans, regardless of the economic, political, social or health context. The fact that both rounds of financing were carried out by the same broker proves that Agroland and TradeVille teams have a fruitful partnership and we congratulate them for all the work done”, said Radu Hanga, Bucharest Stock Exchange Chairman of the Board.

“Success is never an accident, and Agroland is no exception. From the very beginning, we wanted to build an honest business, focused on anticipating customer needs and developing sustainable partnerships with them and our suppliers, and on the capital market we obtained another certification that we achieved what we set out to do. Investors have understood that we are a leader in a market with huge growth potential and have given us their trust. As a listed company we play in a superior league, being ready to constantly adapt our business to new challenges, but we will keep and strengthen the winning team we formed. I would like more and more entrepreneurs to come to BVB, both to get quick financing for their development plans and to feel the satisfaction of having joined a club of the best Romanian companies”, said Horia Cardos, Agroland founder and CEO.

The company carried out a private placement in November, attracting RON 7.9mn from investors. Within the private placement, 1.7mn shares were put up for sale, and investors placed subscription orders for 8.5mn shares, with a cumulative value of RON 38.5mn, which exceeded almost five times the offer. Although originally scheduled for November 18^th – December 2^nd, 2020, the placement was completed in advance from day one. The 1.7mn shares were allocated pro-rata to 137 investors, of which 3 institutional investors and 134 retail investors. Thus, the investors who participated in the private placement hold together 15% of Agroland shares.

Following the private placement, Agroland got an anticipated capitalization of RON 52.9mn (EUR 10.8mn). TradeVille carried out the private placement and, at the same time, the listing of the company on the AeRO market, as an Authorized Consultant. TradeVille will continue to assist Agroland for the next 12 months, after listing, to meet investor reporting and information requirements.

The capital attracted by the company through the private placement will be used to finance the development of new format stores, modernized, with areas of over 400 square meters. This new type of store aims to meet the needs of both traditional customers and a new segment of customers, with above average incomes and having hobbies such as gardening, raising pets or exhibition / farm.

The network of agricultural stores covers the “Farm”, “Pet Care” and “Gardening” segments, and recently entered the phytopharmaceutical segment. At the same time, Agroland is the largest supplier in the field of one-day-old chickens. Fodder and chicken sales have the highest shares in Agroland sales, of 34.08% and 23.49%, according to data for 2019. At the same time, the segment of “Pet care” is gaining ground year by year, as in 2019 it reached 12.36% of revenues. In this stage, Agroland evolves from traditional stores with areas between 50-100 sqm to stores specific to modern retail with areas of 400-500 sqm.

Established in 2009, the company currently operates an extensive network of stores nationwide, covering 29 counties in Romania. At the end of October, Agroland owned 248 stores, of which 59 operated directly and 189 stores belonging to franchisees. The company is also present in the online commerce segment, where sales of 400,000 euros are estimated for 2020. Agroland estimates that in the 29 counties in which it is present, for small towns and rural areas, it has a market share of about 30%.

Agroland Business Systems ended the first nine months of 2020 with a turnover of RON 150mn, up by 20% compared to the similar period of 2019. Net profit increased 2.3 times in the analyzed period, to RON 9mn.

The Agroland group of companies consists of Agroland Business Systems S.A. (listed company and issuer of listed bonds), Agroland Professional Farm SRL, Agroland Agribusiness SRL and Agroland Megastore SRL.

The shareholding structure of Agroland Business System includes the company’s founder and sole administrator, Horia Cardos, with 76.5% of the shares, and Stefan Martin, with a 8.5% stake, and the investors who participated in the private placement held in November hold 15% of the shares.