Exclusive - French delivery company Colis Privé postpones public listing

By Gwénaëlle Barzic

PARIS (Reuters) - French parcel delivery company Colis Privé on Monday postponed for a few months its initial public offering (IPO) initially planned for early July, citing unfavourable market conditions.

Although 2021 has been a record year for IPOs in Europe and globally, there are signs of investor fatigue.

"We had very good initial contacts with investors that we met in recent weeks and we are confident we can pursue this project," Colis Privé said in a statement sent to Reuters.

"In view of current market conditions, we prefer to list Colis Privé in the coming months," it said, without giving a precise date.

E-commerce giant Amazon is Colis Privé's main customer and holds 9.65% of its shares.

In June, Colis Privé said French markets watchdog AMF had approved its IPO registration document.

The group, which did not provide a fundraising target or a detailed description of its shareholding structure, wants to expand overseas, starting with Belgium, Luxemburg and Morocco.

Colis Privé's full-year revenue grew by 46% in 2020 from a year earlier to 233.8 million euros ($283 million). Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were up by 94% over the same period to 21.5 million euros.

Last month, French car parts distributor Parts Holding Europe (PHE) withdrew its Paris initial public offering, also citing unfavourable market conditions.

(Reporting by Gwenaelle Barzic, Writing by Dominique Vidalon, Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Barbara Lewis)