(Bloomberg) -- Private equity firm Mid Europa Partners has selected investment banks to help arrange a Warsaw initial public offering of medical diagnostic firm Diagnostyka SA, according to people familiar with the matter.
Citigroup Inc. and Jefferies Financial Group Inc. are working on preparations for the potential listing of Diagnostyka, which owns Poland’s biggest medical laboratory network, the people said. A first-time share sale could happen as soon as later this year and Mid Europa could sell some of its stake, the people said.
Deliberations are ongoing and no final decision on the size and timeline of the IPO, the people said. More banks could be added later, they said. Representatives for Citi, Jefferies and Mid Europa declined to comment.
A successful listing would add to the growing momentum of Polish IPO activity after a prolonged slump. CVC Capital Partners Plc is planning a listing of Zabka Polska SA that’s expected to value the country’s biggest convenience store chain at $7.5 billion to $8 billion, Bloomberg News reported last month. Polish IT company Transition Technologies MS said last week that it has resumed work on an IPO after preparations were suspended in 2022 due to the war in neighboring Ukraine.
Diagnostyka was founded by medical doctor Jakub Swadzba in 1998. The company runs more than 1,200 collection points and 190 labs across Poland, serving 26 million patients each year, according to its website. It had a net income of 138 million zloty ($35 million) on a revenue of 1.6 billion zloty in 2023, according to its latest financial reports filed to the Polish registry.
Mid Europa bought a stake in Diagnostyka in 2011. The medical firm has since completed more than 120 follow-on acquisitions including buying out its smaller rival Synlab Polska for an undisclosed amount last year.
--With assistance from Swetha Gopinath.
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