LOCAL gas start-up Bluedrop Energy has announced plans to list its shares on the JSE and New York Stock Exchange.
This week, the company said it would first float its shares on the NYSE in 2022. Its JSE listing will follow soon after.
Earlier this year, Bluedrop secured R300 million in funding from US private equity and investment firm Sassoon Group, for the development of their state-of-the-art Smart Composite LPG Cylinder manufacturing plant. Last month, the group signed a Technical Services Agreement with multinational engineering firm Fluor Corporation for the construction of the plant.
J Sassoon Group chairperson David Sassoon said: “We are pleased to continue to advise Bluedrop on its next step in its journey. The South African market is in desperate need of foreign capital infusion, and this potential floating of Bluedrop’s shares in New York is going to help Bluedrop grow exponentially through asset acquisitions, making it one of the leading LPG wholesalers and composite LPG cylinder manufacturers in Africa.”
J Sassoon aims to help raise R1.4 billion in private placement funding for Bluedrop’s second round of funding before its shares float on the NYSE. The group is also advising Bluedrop on its planned initial public offering, in collaboration with its US industry partners and a local broker-dealer firm.
Bluedrop chief executive Kenneth Maduna said: “The listing on the stock market will elevate our profile within the energy sector and investment community. It will surely expand our investor base. It is a value accretive step in the growth of Bluedrop as a relatively new entrant in the energy markets, and it fits in perfectly with our acquisitive growth strategy.
“We are also humbled by the outpouring of support from the South African government and various sector entities. It gives us great confidence in our business to know that our government and our partners share our vision of LPG being at the critical nerve centre of the country's energy future.”