CDA: from a difficult debut to a planned delisting

Raising capital in the IPO

CDA was developing one of Poland’s most popular video platforms and its own VOD service, CDA Premium. The owners decided to list the company on NewConnect and to raise capital ahead of the debut.

We worked with the company from 2016, preparing it for the planned listing, putting its corporate governance in order and advising on adapting its business model to upcoming challenges and plans. We prepared the documentation for the public offering. We coordinated the IPO process and the work of the parties involved: the brokerage house, the statutory auditor and the legal adviser. In late November and early December 2017, 158 investors subscribed for shares at PLN 5.50. The company raised capital and, at the same time, built the dispersed shareholder base that a NewConnect listing requires.

A bumpy road to NewConnect

This time, introducing the shares to trading proved far more difficult than we had anticipated. While the Warsaw Stock Exchange was reviewing CDA’s information document in autumn 2018, the MPAA – the association of the largest US film studios, including owners of streaming services competing with CDA in the Polish market – included the cda.pl streaming platform in its report on services accused of piracy. The MPAA submits this report every year to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) as a recommendation for the government’s Notorious Markets list.

The company publicly challenged the report: it pointed out that, like any platform hosting user content, it promptly removes infringements, gives rights holders a tool to take down content themselves, and offers only licensed films on CDA Premium. It regarded the MPAA’s actions as part of an unfair competitive fight. Cda.pl never appeared on the official Notorious Markets list. Even so, the Warsaw Stock Exchange opened an explanatory procedure as a precaution.

During this period we worked with the management board on crisis communications and difficult discussions with the exchange. As a result, the admission process took many months longer, but it ultimately succeeded: on 8 May 2019 CDA shares debuted on NewConnect. The opening price was PLN 8.50, 54% above the offer price, and during the session the shares rose by more than 130%.

Authorised Adviser and ongoing support for the management board

Throughout the entire listing period we acted as the company’s Authorised Adviser: disclosure obligations, periodic and current reports, and liaison with the Warsaw Stock Exchange and the Central Securities Depository of Poland (KDPW). We designed an incentive scheme based on revenue targets and supported the company in implementing its dividend policy.

In parallel, we advised the management board on strategic decisions, including the assessment of takeover interest from domestic and foreign parties. After analysing the offers, the owners decided to retain control of the company and continue building its value on their own.

Leaving the stock market

While listed, the company grew several times over. Revenue increased from PLN 28m in 2018, the year before the debut, to PLN 104m in 2024, and net profit from PLN 5.4m to PLN 26.4m. The number of CDA Premium subscribers rose from 172,000 to around 390,000, alongside more than 360,000 CDA TV users. For 2018–2023 the company paid its shareholders a total of approximately PLN 90m in dividends.

The company’s market capitalisation rose from approximately PLN 56m at the price in the public offering preceding the debut to approximately PLN 229m at the end of 2024.

In 2025 the main shareholders, together holding approximately 97% of the shares, decided to withdraw the company from trading. We took the company through the entire process – from choosing the route and the timetable, through preparing the documentation, to coordinating the work of the brokerage houses, the Warsaw Stock Exchange, KDPW and the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF).

The first step was a tender offer for all remaining shares at PLN 23.30 – a price equal to the average market price over the previous three months. Subscriptions ran from 8 May to 9 June 2025, and once the tender offer was settled the owners’ stake rose to more than 98% of the share capital. In August the general meeting passed a resolution to withdraw the shares from trading, in October the company obtained KNF approval, and on 31 October 2025 CDA shares were quoted on NewConnect for the last time.

Continued cooperation

Since the delisting, we have been supporting the company and its owners in buying back the remaining shares off-market and tidying up the shareholder structure.