28th Feb 2014 13:37
LONDON (Alliance News) - Pets at Home Group PLC Friday valued its upcoming initial public offering at up to GBP1.3 billion, as the surge in the London IPO market continued with Irish hotel operator Dalata also confirming it will float on AIM as well as in Dublin.
The pets product retailer, which had announced its intention to float in January, said the expected price for its offer is between 210 pence and 260 pence a share, meaning it will have a market capitalisation of between GBP1.05 billion and GBP1.30 billion on listing.
That would also means it will raise about GBP280 million in the IPO, funds it will use to cut its debts and expand the business. The IPO will also give private-equity owner Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, which bought Pets at Home in 2010 for around GBP955 million, an opportunity to make a return on its investment.
It said conditional dealings in the shares are expected to begin March 13.
If it achieves the valuation it is predicting in the IPO, it will likely go into the FTSE 250 in the index review after its listing.
Pets at Home is one of several retailers to have announced an IPO so far in 2014, amid a surge in new listings from several sectors.
Online domestic appliances retailer AO World PLC saw its shares surge this week in conditional dealings after its IPO price gave it an initial value of GBP1.2 billion. It starts unconditional trading March 3.
Conveience store and newsagent chain McColl's Retail Group Ltd had a less positive start after its IPO price of 191 pence gave it an initial GBP200 million valuation, but the stock fell in conditional dealings. Unconditional dealing started Friday and it was trading at 182.27 pence Friday afternoon.
Discount retailer Poundland and online fashion retailer Boohoo.com have also announced that they intend to IPO in coming months, while media have reported that a host of other retail businesses are set to float sometime this year, including discount retailer B&M, department store operator House of Fraser, phones retailer Phones4U, and fashion retailer Fat Face.
The surge in new listings goes beyond the retail sector, with biotechnology firms Horizon Discovery Group PLC and Circassia Pharmaceuticals PLC also set to float. Other new issues have come from the real estate sector.
Dalata Hotel Group, the largest hotel operator in Ireland, Friday said it intends to float on the ESM market of the Irish Stock Exchange as well as on AIM in London. It wants to raise between EUR150 million and EUR200 million to buy up a portfolio of 16 to 25 hotels across Ireland and to pay down its debt.
The Irish hotel sector was hit hard by the financial crisis and resulting economic downturn, but Dalata now wants to take advantage of the recovery.
"We are bringing both a strong business and a strong opportunity to the market at a point where revenues in the sector are stabilising after a prolonged period of downward pressures," Dalata Hotels Chairman John Hennessy said in a statement
Separately, Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate PLC, a closed-ended investment fund being spun out by Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc of the US, Friday started trading on the main market in London, while Russian hypermarket retailer Lenta Ltd priced its IPO of global depository receipts at USD10.00 per GDR, meaning it will have an initial market capitalisation of USD4.3 billion and will raise up to USD1.1 billion.
Earlier this month, Lenta had said its private equity owners intended to float it in London and Moscow. The company is owned by TPG, which holds a 49.8% stake, VTB Private Equity, which has a 11.7% stake, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which holds a 21.5% stake.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @SteveMcGrath1
Copyright © 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Ao WorldMccoll's