(Bloomberg) -- Quick Mart Plc saw demand for shares in its initial public offering exceed the number available by almost 23% as Kenya’s second-biggest supermarket chain concluded the nation’s second IPO of the year.
Investors applied for 2.45 billion shares at 7.50 shillings each in the Nairobi-based company while 2 billion were on offer, it said in a statement on Friday. The firm got 18,492 applications.
“The board is delighted with the strong response,” Quick Mart said.
The sale is a sign of a tentative revival in Kenyan equity-capital markets where there have been few listings. Quick Mart is only the second company to pursue an IPO this year in Nairobi after state-run Kenya Pipeline Co.’s offer. Rising share prices have helped to create a more favorable backdrop for investors, with the nation’s benchmark stocks gauge gaining 28% in dollar terms this year, placing it among the 10 best performers globally.
Just over 18,000 Kenyan and East African retail investors received a full allocation of 119.6 million shares, while 44 foreign buyers got about 236 million shares, or just under half the number sought.