11th Apr 2014 07:53
LONDON (Alliance News) - Exova Group PLC, Polypipe Group PLC, and Cambian Group PLC Friday priced their initial public offerings and began conditional dealings, as the parade of companies floating on the London Stock Exchange continues to grow.
With investor confidence beginning to return after years of uncertainty after the financial crisis of 2008, the market has seen increasing numbers of companies raising capital on its primary markets in 2014. Exova, Polypipe and Cambian bring the number of IPOs on the London Stock Exchange's main market to 14 in 2014, excluding Lenta's listing of Global Depository Receipts.
Laboratory-based testing and related advisory services company Exova is set to to be the largest of the three, based on a GBP550.0 million initial market capitalisation.
The company priced its IPO at 220 pence a share, but was trading at 218.25 pence in early dealings.
The IPO raised about GBP220 million in gross proceeds. Half of that will be received by the company, while existing shareholders CD&R Fund VII, a fund managed by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice LLC, as well as senior management, are to receive the remaining GBP110.0 million.
The offer, which represents about 40% of Exova's shares, will result in the company having about 250.0 million shares in issue upon admission to the market.
Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Ltd, the stabilisation manager, has been granted an over-allotment option by Exova, giving it the option to acquire, or find other investors to acquire, up to an additional 15.0 million over-allotment shares. That's 15% of the shares on offer.
Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs International are acting as joint global co-ordinators, joint sponsors and joint bookrunners. Barclays Bank PLC is acting as joint bookrunner and N M Rothschild & Sons Ltd is acting as Financial Adviser to Exova.
Plastic piping manufacturer Polypipe Group set its offer price at 245 pence, which gave it a GBP490.0 million initial market capitalisation. The offer for about 120.0 million shares raised GBP294.0 million.
Polypipe shares were quoted at 245.5 pence in early dealings.
Cavendish Square Partners LP will hold 23.0% of the company's shares, while directors and senior management will have a 9.8% stake.
Stabilising manager Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch has been granted an over-allotment option over up to about 12.0 million shares, 10% of the offer.
Deutsche Bank and Numis Securities Ltd are the joint sponsors and joint bookrunners in relation to the offer and admission, while Canaccord Genuity Ltd is co-lead manager. Moelis & Company is the company's financial adviser on the move.
Numis and Canaccord were also instrumental in bringing Cambian to the market. Numis again took up the role of joint bookrunner, with Canaccord acting as co-lead manager in the IPO, which was expected to raise GBP194.3 million in gross proceeds for the company and selling shareholders. If the offer's over-allotment option is exercised, the amount raised is expected to increase to GBP213.7 million.
The offer price was set at 225 pence, but Cambian was trading at 209 pence in early dealings.
The specialist behavioural health services provider had a GBP387.8 million market capitalisation at the beginning of conditional dealings.
The company will receive GBP20.0 million of the gross proceeds.
JP Morgan Cazenove is global co-ordinator, sole sponsor and joint bookrunner on the IPO, while Rothschild is the financial adviser.
Conditional dealings in all three companies began at the open Friday. Unconditional dealings are expected to begin on April 16 for all three.
The combined initial market capitalisations of the three newly listed companies is GBP1.43 billion, slightly behind the GBP1.47 billion initial market capitalisation of Just Eat PLC, the largest IPO on London's main market so far in 2014.
Meanwhile, on the London Stock Exchange's market for smaller companies, Bioventix PLC, the biotech firm focused on creating and engineering antibodies, said it intends to move to AIM from ISDX on or around April 29.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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