Brenntag Gets Warm Reception On German Market Debut

Brenntag, the world's biggest chemicals distributor, got a warm reception in its market debut as Germany's second-biggest flotation this year, suggesting growing investor demand for selected new stock offerings.

Brenntag shares changed hands at €52.08 by 12:29 GMT on Monday, 4% above their €50  issue price and outperforming the STOXX Europe 600 chemicals index, which was 0.3% higher.

Brenntag's listing came as the global market for initial public offerings (IPOs) gathers pace after a number of downsizings and postponements.

A week ago, cable television company Kabel Deutschland failed to gather much support in Europe's biggest listing so far in 2010, closing just 1.1% above the issue price of €22 per share.

"The market does differentiate when it comes to new listings. Kabel Deutschland is operating in the consumer segment and investors are still sceptical in this sector at the moment," said Joerg Rahn, chief investment officer at wealth management company Marcard, Stein & Co in Hamburg. "But when it comes to chemical stocks, such as Brenntag, the situation looks different."

Brenntag, which competes with Britain's Bunzl, on Saturday said it had issued its shares at €50 apiece to raise a total of €747.5 million. Controlled by private equity group BC Partners, Brenntag is the fourth company to float successfully on Germany's stock market in 2010, just a day before Chinese bathroom appliances maker Joyou.

Asked about business in the first quarter, Brenntag Chief Executive Stephen Clark told Reuters: "We have seen demand coming back and have left the recession to some extent." Brenntag, which started in 1874 as an egg trader in Berlin, swung to a net profit of €0.5 million last year from a loss of €41.8 million in 2008. It has about 150,000 customers worldwide, among them Airbus, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis.