It ain’t IPO-ver till the fat man sings: Companies prepare to brave London’s stormy flotation market
A medical equipment maker, price comparison website and a kitchen products business are preparing to brave London’s flotation market this week amid stormy conditions.
Despite numerous initial public offering (IPO) plans being pulled this month, Convatec is due to list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) at 8am on Monday. It will mark the UK’s biggest float of the year so far and value the company at £4.4bn. Shares have been priced at 225p and the medical products company has raised £1.5bn.
Read more: Fears for London IPO market as Misys and O2 pull 2016 float plans
Convatec is expected to be joined by GoCompare.com on Thursday if the price comparison website’s demerger from Esure is approved by shareholders in a vote on Tuesday. Analysts expect the company to be valued at around £400m.
And the LSE’s junior Alternative Investment Market (Aim) is also expected to welcome a new company this week – Filta Group, a kitchen specialist expected to be valued at £22.4m on Friday.
In addition, City PM understands at least one new company will announce plans to float this week, while software group CHP Consulting and Romanian tech firm Bitdefender are said to be considering London floats.
These companies are planning to take on the market despite numerous IPOs being pulled this month. Pure Gym, car parts maker TI Fluid Systems and tech giant Misys all pulled out of float plans..
City PM has also learned that wealth manager Ascot Lloyd, which was due to float on Aim on Monday, has put off its IPO after failing to find enough investor support.
Read more: IPOh dear: Another blow for flotation market as Misys pulls listing plans
Chief executive Richard Dunbabin told staff last week:
Overall investor interest has been slower than anticipated.
This is mainly due to the current fears regarding inflation, interest rates rising and potential economic slowdown (not to mention Brexit and the US presidential election).
Around $6bn (£5bn) has been raised on the UK flotation market so far this year, down 50 per cent on the figure for the same period in 2015, according to Dealogic. Henderson, meanwhile, has identified it as the slowest year for IPOs in the UK since 2012.