Agroton completes ADR placement at MCap of USD 168 mln

Ukraine’s Agroton agricultural holding placed 4 mln ADRs, the Bank of New York Mellon announced yesterday. Local media reports stated the company achieved an MCap at placement of USD 168 mln. The ADRs were valued at USD 10.5 apiece and issued at a 1:1 ratio to the company’s ordinary shares. Agroton, according to local news reports, is planning a listing in Warsaw in 2010. Agroton was established in 1992 and controls 134 ha of agricultural land and 235 ths mt of grain storage capacity in elevators. The company cultivates grain and oilseed, produces meat, baked goods, noodles and cheese. This year Agroton planted 56.2 ths ha with winter crops (wheat, rapeseed, barley and rye). Andriy Gostik: We estimate that the pre-money EV/planted land 2009 metric at Agroton’s placement exceeded USD 3,000/ha, which is currently the highest multiple among Ukrainian land plays. Earlier, in October, another land holder, Sintal Agriculture (SNPS GF), placed its shares at EV/harvested land of ~USD 900/ha. Based on the MCap criterion, we think the placement of Agroton could be viewed as quite successful. At the same time, we are waiting for more information from the company regarding the amount of proceeds attracted, which would be a more important characteristic than MCap.