XTB’s Founder Sold Another 8% of the Broker for About…

XX ZW Investment Group, the holding company of XTB co-founder Jakub Zabłocki, has sold 9,405,540 shares in the Warsaw-listed broker — an 8% stake — at PLN 160 apiece through an accelerated bookbuilding completed on September 2. The gross value of the transaction comes to roughly PLN 1.505 billion, or about $410 million.

The placement price sat 8.2% below XTB's PLN 174.30 close on the preceding Wednesday, a discount typical of accelerated deals that need to move a large block quickly. The market reaction was immediate: the stock closed at PLN 157.24 on Thursday, down 9.79%, below the level paid by bookbuild participants. After settlement, XX ZW holds 32,661,789 shares, or 27.78% of capital and voting rights, down from 35.78%. No new shares were issued and the proceeds go to the selling shareholder, making this a secondary sale rather than a capital raise for the broker.

Fifth placement since 2023

The September deal is the fifth documented accelerated placement by XX ZW in just over two years. The sequence began in May 2023 with 7 million shares at PLN 38 each, worth PLN 266 million and equal to 5.96% of the company. February 2024 brought a larger block of 11,756,925 shares at PLN 41, raising about PLN 482 million and cutting the stake to 50.93%. In September 2024, 8.4 million shares went at PLN 62.50 for PLN 525 million, leaving 43.78%. A May 2025 sale of 9,405,540 shares at PLN 78 generated roughly PLN 733.6 million and reduced the holding to 35.78% — the same share count as this week's deal, but at more than double the price. Across the five placements, XX ZW has disposed of about 45.97 million shares for combined gross proceeds of roughly PLN 3.51 billion.

The filings do not state a reason for the latest disposal. What they do show is a 360-day lock-up over XX ZW's remaining shares after settlement, subject to customary exceptions — longer than the 180-day lock-ups attached to several earlier placements.

For investors, the shift in XTB's register may matter more than the cash raised. Shares held outside XX ZW rise to 72.22% on a simple ownership basis from 64.22%, though index providers may exclude certain concentrated holdings when calculating investable free float. The change lands shortly before XTB is scheduled to join the STOXX Europe 600, effective with the quarterly index review on September 21.