Poundland share price falls as its biggest shareholder sells larger-than-expected stake after 99p Stores acquisition
Shares in Poundland slid 5.5 per cent to 393.9p this morning after Warburg Pincus, the discount retailer's largest shareholder, sold off 10m more shares than originally planned, after its acquisition of 99p Stores last week.
The investor said yesterday it was planning to sell of 25m shares (about £101m worth) – but this morning, it emerged it had actually offloaded 35m, netting £142m, thanks to "strong demand".
That means the company has almost halved its stake in the retailer, from 30.4 per cent to 16.4 per cent.
Having flourished during the recession, Poundland has continued to be the darling of many high streets. Since it floated in March, shares have more than doubled from their listing price of 200p to 416p yesterday,
They jumped again last week, when the retailer announced plans to acquire its arch-rival, 99p Stores for £55m. At the time, chief executive Jim McCarthy said the deal would "generate further value for Poundland's shareholders" (not to mention a lot of loose change…).