What percentage of GYG shares are owned by the company founders?

Well, Guzman y Gomez Ltd (ASX: GYG) shares’ first week on the ASX has been… interesting. Upon an explosive initial public offering (IPO) last Thursday, GYG shares rocketed well above their $22 IPO price to reach $30.99 soon after. 

But the rest of Guzman’s first week on the ASX was more muted. Over Friday and Monday’s session, the company steadily lost value, only to see a bump back up over the past few trading days. Well, until today, that is.

GYG shares are having an awful end to the trading week so far this Friday, currently nursing a loss of 3.41%, down to $28.64 a share at the time of writing.

So a wild and woolly first week for Guzman y Gomez on the ASX. Check out the shares’ performance for yourself below:

But enough on that.

Guzman insiders take advantage of IPO

Today, let’s take stock of GYG shares and how much of this company is still owned by its founders.

So Guzman y Gomez was founded by two people back in 2006: Steven Marks and Robert Hazan. Today, Marks remains Guzman’s co-CEO alongside Hilton Brett. Hazan no longer plays an active leadership role at Guzman, but still retains a significant ownership stake in the business.

As my Fool colleague Tristan covered earlier this week, many of Guzman’s early-stage investors have taken the opportunity of the company’s IPO to sell down their stakes in the company. Those include the company’s chair, Guy Russo, as well as TDM Growth co-CEO Hilton Brett and director Bruce Buchanan.

However, the holdings of several of GYG’s largest shareholders, including those of Marks, are still under voluntary escrow. This ensures that 25% of these investors’ holdings are under escrow until the company releases its first half-yearly results. The remaining 75% of these investors’ holdings will be locked up until Guzman’s full-year results for the 2025 financial year are released.

However, this escrow has not stopped Marks from offloading some of his GYG options. On 24 June, an ASX filing showed that Marks bagged around $8.1 million after converting 403,750 options into shares and selling them.

How many GYG shares are still owned by its founders?

But let’s get down to business.

So according to that filing, Marks retains 2.074 million GYG options. He also directly owns 1,212,000 GYG shares. In addition, Marks indirectly owns another 7,602,000 shares through both a family trust and a super fund. All up, that’s 8,814,000 shares to Marks’ name. Guzman has 101,352,914 outstanding shares in total, meaning Marks retains an approximate 8.7% stake in Guzman y Gomez today.

But what about the other co-founder, Robert Hazan?

Hazan doesn’t appear to have changed his stake in the company post-IPO. That means he still retains 4,527,500 shares indirectly through his family company RBH Ltd. That equates to a 4.47% stake in Guzman y Gomez.

At the current share price, Marks’ stake in Guzman y Gomez would be valued at $252.43 million. Hazan, meanwhile, is sitting on a $129.67 million fortune.

The post What percentage of GYG shares are owned by the company founders? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why are Guzman Y Gomez shares being shorted?
• Should I buy Guzman Y Gomez shares on the ASX?
• Over $100 million of GYG shares sold by insiders on day one. Should investors be worried?
• How rich are the Guzman Y Gomez founders following the company’s IPO?
• How does the Guzman Y Gomez ASX valuation compare to Domino’s?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.