After four years, A&D Pharma wants to get delisted from the LSE

A&D Pharma, Romania’s biggest pharmaceutical group, with 482.2m-euro turnover in the first nine months of this year, wants to get delisted from the London Stock Exchange, where the company’s shares have traded since October 2006, and wants to buy back shares for which it pays 4.5 euros.
At this level, capitalisation stands at 150m euros, namely 37.5% above the level registered at the time of floatation.
A&D Pharma, which operates Sensiblu pharmacies, Mediplus distributor, Anima clinics network and a sales & marketing unit, is the most visible pharmaceutical company in Romania and the only Romanian business listed on the main market of London’s capital market. The company’s delisting occurs as its shares trade for 5.7 euros, namely half the price posted at the floatation moment.
Initially, the company decided to go to London to “create an active market for the company’s securities and have access to a large constituency of investors,” according to the information included in the announcement published on the LSE.
“Given the very limited liquidity in the GDRs, the Board has concluded that the company has not achieved these objectives. In addition, senior executives of the company are required to spend valuable management time and energy in maintaining the listing and complying with associated regulatory requirements (…) By delisting, the company will be able to utilise both the senior management’s time and the cost savings of not having a listing towards further growth in the business of the company”, reads the announcement.