Following its demerger from Woolworths Group, Endeavour Group commenced trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) at 12pm today, June 24, on a conditional and deferred settlement basis. 

The Endeavour share price opened at $6.50 and saw heavy trading ranging from $5.77 to $6.60. 

The listing of Endeavour Group (ASX:EDV) shares follows Woolworths shareholders overwhelmingly voting in favour of the demerger on June 18, 2021, with 99.85% of the votes cast in favour of the demerger.

Chairman Gordon Cairns said: “As a separately listed entity, Endeavour Group will have a broad mandate for growth. It will be able to pursue its business strategy with flexibility to invest in its best returning opportunities and respond to changing consumer behaviours and industry conditions.

“It does so with market leading positions in both the retail and hospitality sectors. It will be led by Steve Donohue as CEO, and an experienced management team who have especially proven themselves over the last 12 months. We have also put together a first-class board, with the appropriate skills and experience, led by Peter Hearl as Chairman-elect. I have known Peter for many years. He is a proven leader and an experienced public company director currently serving on the boards of Santos and
Telstra.

“And finally, Holly Kramer and Bruce Mathieson Sr have been nominated by Woolworths Group and Bruce Mathieson Group respectively, to serve on the Endeavour Group board, reflecting both groups’ material shareholding post demerger.”

Endeavour Group Chairman Peter Hearl (above, left) said: “Joining the ASX under our own name and as a standalone business marks the next chapter in Endeavour Group’s evolution. On behalf of the entire Board, it is a privilege to be a part of such a milestone, and we welcome and thank our new shareholders for joining us on this journey.”

Endeavour Group Managing Director and CEO Steve Donohue (above, right) said: “This is a very significant day for Endeavour Group’s 28,000 team members throughout Australia, who are united around our purpose of ‘creating a more sociable future together’, and for our partners, customers and many other stakeholders.”

“We are excited about the future as we continue to focus on growth and building on the successful platform we have in place through our portfolio of trusted retail brands, including Dan Murphy’s and BWS, as well as Australia’s largest portfolio of hotels including many Australian icons such as Brisbane’s Breakfast Creek Hotel and the Young & Jackson Hotel in Melbourne.”

“Our teams are supported by our Pinnacle Drinks brand and manufacturing business, our industry-leading digital capabilities via EndeavourX, and the value of our ongoing partnership with Woolworths Group.”   

Donohue told The Australian he would be celebrating the listing with a Krondorf wine from the Barossa Valley. 

Shares are expected to be transferred to eligible shareholders on July 1, at which time commencement of trading on a normal settlement will occur.

Donohue looks to e-commerce for growth

Donohue told the Australian Financial Review he believes the rise in online sales in Dan Murphy’s will continue. Currently, online sales make up less than 10% of Endeavour’s bottom line and he believes it will “start pushing up into the teens”.

There was also a strong digital push in the hotels business, with “order at table” services coming in for Endeavour’s 332 licensed venues.

There are also gaps in the market for more bricks and mortar liquor stores, in addition to the current 250 Dan Murphy’s stores and 1392 BWS outlets.

“There is certainly opportunity for retail expansion,” he said.

He revealed that the online buying patterns of customers are closely tracked and used to select new locations for bricks and mortar stores.

How Endeavour Group celebrated ASX listing

Team members at Endeavour Group created a virtual bell so all 28,000 employees could take part in celebrating the first day of trading on the ASX, following the postponement of the bell ringing ceremony at the Exchange Centre due to COVID-restrictions in Sydney.

Endeavour Group’s team members across the country were invited to join a livestream broadcast at 12pm AEST, during which ASX officials welcomed Endeavour Group to take its place amongst the ASX200.

“It’s my pleasure to welcome you to today’s virtual – unexpectedly – listing ceremony for Endeavour Group Limited to be trading under the ticker code EDV,” said ASX Limited’s Senior Manager Issues Services Giri Tenneti, joining the livestream from her home.

“The demerger of Endeavour Group has positioned the company as the leading retail drinks and hospitality business in Australia,” she added.

The team were able to watch the trade screen as it for the first time showed Endeavour Group – under the ticker EDV – trading on the Australian stock market. 

Endeavour Group’s Managing Director and CEO Steve Donohue then held a short speech, during which he thanked and invited all team members to virtually ring a bell that the team had created overnight. 

“At its core Endeavour is a people business with a proud history and home to some of Australia’s best known brands like Dan Murphy’s and BWS, as well as over 330 local hotels across Australia.  Today is a celebration of that connection to team and community, so it feels appropriate that everyone is able to ‘ring the bell’ to celebrate this occasion,” Mr Donohue said. 

“We are committed to creating a more sociable future together, and we can all feel super confident about how bright that future is if we stay true to that purpose that I know we all believe in.”

The demerger was initially announced in 2019 and was expected to take place in 2020, however it was delayed following the emergence of COVID-19.

“It’s obviously a very historic day for all of us at Endeavour Group, we are not to be foiled by Covid. If you think about our journey as a team, we were planning to get this demerger done quite a while ago but obviously Covid got in the way the first time around. We weren’t going to let it get in the way the second time around! Mr Donohue said

“Thank you to all 28,000 team members – we don’t get to this stage without you, and we certainly don’t get beyond this stage without you,” he added.

Team members were then encouraged to share photos of themselves on internal social media networks of what they were doing during the historic moment Endeavour Group started trading. 

Hundreds of photos were shared from stores, hotels, warehouses, homes and offices across the country, and some team members even got creative by doing their own ringing with bells that they had at their own disposal – bicycle bells, door bells and even a cap and bells.

Landslide approval for Endeavour Group demerger