WE Soda IPO

WE Soda, the world’s largest soda ash producer, has cancelled its listing on the London Stock Exchange due to cautious investor sentiment. Learn everything you need to know about the $7.5 billion IPO.

Will WE Soda IPO?

WE Soda, the largest producer of natural soda ash, has now cancelled its plans to hold an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange. The move crushes any hope of the IPO boosting the LSE stock market.

It had submitted a regulatory filing on June 7, applying for admission to the premium listing segment of the Financial Conduct Authority and trade on the main market of the LSE. It’s likely the company will be added to the FTSE 100 following its listing.

The WE Soda IPO was expected to raise around £650 million ($800 million), by floating 10% of its shares. The offer was due to be comprised of ordinary shares that will be sold by existing shareholders. The proceeds were set to repay company loans to its affiliates within the Ciner Group – which c urrently controls the company.

WE Soda IPO date

The WE Soda IPO has now been cancelled.

Why was WE Soda listing in the UK?

London IPOs have become somewhat maligned in recent years, as proceeds fell 90% in 2022 due to the volatility caused by the fallout of the Ukraine war and the global economic crisis. This made WE Soda’s UK IPO plans a surprise for investors.

WE Soda is a UK-based group and had stated it’s a Europe-centric business. But chief executive Alasdair Warren stated the decision is largely so that it can ‘be a big fish in a relatively modest-sized pond’.

WE Soda’s London IPO was expected to raise $650 million, which would double the total raised on the London Stock Exchange by IPOs so far this year, according to Bloomberg.

WE Soda's IPO was expected to be a welcome sight for UK investors, but the cautious environment ultimately led to the group cancelling the listing plans. It was unlikely to lead to an increase in the number of listings in the country immediately given the ongoing volatility and poor sentiment.

What is WE Soda’s value?

WE Soda’s valuation is expected to be between $7.5 billion and $8.5 billion according to various reports. Although the lower figure may be more accurate based on its earnings and competitors’ share prices.

What does WE Soda do?

WE Soda is the world’s largest natural soda-ash producer. Soda ash is the world’s tenth most consumed industrial ingredient, as it’s a key ingredient in glassmaking, including the photovoltaic glass used in solar panels.

WE Soda has two large production sites in Turkey, which currently produce 5 million tonnes of soda ash a year, which it sells to clients across 80 different countries.

The company is expected to invest $5 billion to double its capacity, primarily by expanding into the US. This coincides with expectations that demand for soda ash will rise from 65 million to 81 million tonnes a year by 2030 as solar panels and lithium carbonate see increased demand.

Is WE Soda profitable?

WE Soda reported $838 million in adjusted core earnings in 2022, after generating $1.4 billion in revenues.

The company has already confirmed a minimum $500 million dividend for FY 2023. With an interim H1 2023 dividend to be paid to all shareholders in October 2023 of at least $250 million.

Who owns WE Soda?

WE Soda is wholly owned by the Ciner Group, an industrial conglomerate based in Turkey. Ciner has operations across energy, media and commerce, as well as various properties.

Ciner is owned by its founder, Turgay Ciner who is estimated to be worth $1 billion as of April 2023. Ciner will continue to hold around two-thirds of WE Soda after the IPO.