Pharma group Aspen becomes fifth largest company to list on A2X

Aspen Pharmacare [JSE:APN] became the fifth largest company by market capitalisation to list on the alternative A2X exchange on Monday morning. 

The pharmaceutical group, which has a market cap of R42.4bn, will retain its primary listing on the JSE. 

A2X, which has been active since October 2017, is a licensed stock exchange which provides secondary listings for SA companies. A total of 18 companies have been listed on the exchange, including heavy hitters Naspers, the Standard Bank Group and Sanlam.  

The new listing comes nearly a month after Aspen shares plunged to a seven-year low on the back of poor results, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization down 3% to R5.5bn in the six months ended December 31.

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Aspen Group CEO said, Stephen Saad, said in a statement on Monday secondary listing would boost its shareholder base. 

A2X CEO, Kevin Brady, said trading activity levels were increasing sharply on the exchange. "We look forward to demonstrating the benefits of a secondary listing to Aspen, as our lower fees and narrower spreads attract increasing investor interest." A2X listed companies have a combined market capitalisation of over R2.2trn. 

Aspen shares were changing hands at R93.24 at 11:40 on Monday on the JSE, still down roughly 25% from where they were trading before the latest results were announced.