Southeastern Grocers Will Join the IPO Bandwagon in 2021
By Rachel CurryDec. 24 2020, Updated 10:56 a.m. ET
With a number of early-year IPOs already in the works, it seems like the 2020 IPO wave will continue. One of the IPOs is Southeastern Grocers, which operates under the Winn-Dixie umbrella.
The Southeastern Grocers enterprise is a hearty one, with 420 supermarket locations across the country. However, there's one major risk factor. Southeastern Grocers emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018.
Southeastern Grocers is becoming publicly traded
Reportedly, Southeastern Grocers is looking to raise upwards of $500 million in the IPO. As a company that operates in seven states—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina — Southeastern Grocers has a regional strength that could help it court localized investors.
Anthony T. Hucker has been the president and CEO of Southeastern Grocers since 2017. The company's headquarters are in Jacksonville, Fla.
What to know about Southeastern Grocers going public
The parent company for Southeastern Grocers is LSF5 BI-LO Holdings, LLC. The network of companies throughout the umbrella is multifaceted. Southeastern owns other grocery store chains, namely BI-LO, Winn-Dixie, Harvey's, and Fresco y Más. However, Southeastern Grocers is just one of the 1,009 companies that LSF5 owns.
Despite all of the corporate success, Southeastern Grocers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. According to the company, the financial issues were a result of overly aggressive expansion. Over the course of four years, the company increased its number of storefronts by 256 percent. Since then, the chain has slimmed down and has healthy operations.
Southeastern Grocers' IPO date
Southeastern Grocers has released form S-1, which is an IPO-specific SEC document. The company submitted the registration statement on Oct. 19 and looks toward its IPO in 2021. Southeastern Grocers hasn't released the precise date of the offering within that time frame.
Southeastern Grocers' valuation is improving
One thing that Southeastern Grocers has going for it is the ability to turn a profit. The company had a net loss worth of $62 million in the seven months ending July 10, 2018. However, in the seven months ending July 8, 2020, it earned a net profit of $205 million.
In the 12 months ending after the first half of 2020, the supermarket chain saw $9 billion in revenue.
Some of this likely has to do with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has ramped up the demand for groceries and essentials across the board. It's in an investor's best interest to keep up with quarterly reports and see how the earnings stack up after the COVID-19 pandemic ends. This is especially true for investors with long-term positions.
How to buy Southeastern Grocers IPO stock
If you have a brokerage account, you can buy Southeastern Grocers stock after the company makes its market debut. Which to see when the company officially releases its IPO date. Once the IPO arrives, you can buy stock for the market share price on trading platforms like Robinhood, Charles Schwab, E-Trade, and many others. Just know that the starting share price will likely change rapidly.
