Aussie Booktopia to float on IPO

5 Apr 2016 |  April Glover   |    Comment now

Australia’s biggest online book retailer Booktopia has revealed plans to push ahead with efforts to float on the ASX, despite the looming threat of global book giants.

Booktopio is targeting a $150m IPO in the second half of 2016, and is reportedly set to go ahead in the face of competing UK retailer The Book Depository’s plans to expand in Australia.

Booktopia appointed investment banks Ord Minnett and Morgans as advisers to lead the charge towards a potential float in the late months of this year.

The company was launched in 2003 and is family-owned headed by chief executive Tony Nash, who says Booktopia is ‘unfazed’ by Amazon-owned The Book Depository’s threat.

According to reports, Booktopia’s share of the local online book market is now more than 80 per cent following its acquisition of Penguin Random House’s Bookworld.

Last year the retailer also acquired the online arm of closed book store Angus and Robertson.

Booktopia’s IPO ambitions trail a strong period for printed books sales in Australia, with 55.4 million paper books sold in 2015 which was the first yearly growth since 2008.

[Related: Books on demand trend]

The migration away from bricks-and-mortar bookstores to an online delivery market has also boosted growth for retailers such as Booktopia.

The online book retailer, along with competing businesses US based Amazon and UK’s The Book Depository have undergone a sales renaissance while book chain stores such as Borders and Angus and Robertson suffered closures. 

Statistics from industry analyst IbisWorld state the global online book retail market has experienced 15 per cent yearly growth.

Booktopia ships some four million books per year from its warehouse headquarters in Homebush, Sydney.