The Croatian equity capital markets are poised to enjoy another landmark transaction with the flotation of a 32.5% stake in the country’s largest telecoms operator, T-Hrvatski Telekom (T-HT). As Euromoney went to press Croatian retail interest in the transaction was running at record levels, easily eclipsing the demand for the sale of shares in oil company INA in 2006. In the first three days of the subscription period, more than 60,000 retail investors registered an interest in the flotation, compared with the 47,000 that participated in the INA deal. Market participants believe that as many as 150,000 individuals could ultimately take part in the T-HT transaction, which will involve the company floating on the Zagreb and London stock exchanges this month.
The unprecedented retail demand posed something of a headache for joint bookrunners Erste Bank and Hrvatska Postanska Banka, and the Croatian government, given the desire to achieve a balance of domestic retail and institutional investor demand alongside institutional participation from overseas. As a result, the Croatian government decided to increase the size of the holding it will sell to 32.5%, from an initial 20% to 23%. Some 7.2% of the shares will be distributed to institutional investors and 25% to retail clients.