China Freezes IPO Market In Effort To Stem Sell-Off

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BrokerDealer.com special news update: In an effort to stem the recent plunge in prices of stocks listed on Chinese stock markets, this weekend the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges issued notices suspending initial public offerings (I.P.O.s) until further notice.

The government-controlled Securities Association of China has instructed brokerdealers from 21 of the major brokerage firms to set up a nearly US$20bil fund (120 billion renminbi) that will be used to support stock prices by buying shares in China’s largest and most stable companies.

Separately on Saturday, 25 Chinese mutual funds claimed they would also put more money into shares. Although fund managers did not reveal the exact amount, they noted that they would be investing their own funds.

Saturday’s halt to IPOs could freeze large amounts of cash and dry up liquidity in the market, thus contributing to its stabilization, as large IPOs have been named one of the main factors triggering the current decline.

Brokerdealer.com provides a global database of broker-dealers operating in more than 3 dozen countries, including brokerage firms based in Hong Kong.

The government has already taken a number of measures over the past week, including cutting interest rates, relaxing margin-lending rules, and adding bank liquidity, so far without any success in reassuring investors.

The Asset Management Association of China pledged to halt additional stock investments for at least a year, and later to accelerate the issuance of share funds after the freeze.

The IPO freeze will last until the Shanghai composite index reaches 4,500 points, Reuters reports. On Friday, the index fell by 5.8%, ending at 3,684 points.

Saturday’s halt to IPOs could freeze large amounts of cash and dry up liquidity in the market, thus contributing to its stabilization, as large IPOs have been named one of the main factors triggering the current decline.

British Property Website Zoopla Valued at $1.5 Billion in I.P.O

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BrokerDealer.com/blog update courtesy of extracts from today’s NYT DealBook

LONDON – Zoopla Property Group, a British real estate listings website, was valued at more than $1.5 billion in its initial public offering in London on Wednesday.

The company priced its offering at 2.20 pounds a share — just below the midpoint of its initial price range of £2 to £2.50 a share — giving it a market capitalization of £918.8 million, or about $1.56 billion.

The offering came amid increasing worries about Britain’s red-hot housing market. The country’s top financial officials have warned recently of the need for new lending rules to curb the risks the frothy market poses to economic growth and falling unemployment.

Bruce Dear, head of London real estate at ​the ​law firm Eversheds, ​said the Zoopla I.P.O. “has been caught marginally offside by the Bank of England flagging that the housing market must be dampened. ​ This explains their sensible ‘lower half’ pricing.

“How Zoopla must wish it had made its I.P.O. run three months ago,” Mr. Dear said.

Zoopla’s shares rose more than 5 percent in early trading on Wednesday.

Started in 2008, the website attracts more than 20 million visits a month. About 19,000 real estate agents in Britain pay a monthly subscription fee to advertise their listings on the site, generating the vast majority of Zoopla’s revenue.

In announcing its I.P.O. last month, Zoopla said it had strong market penetration levels, representing about 90 percent of residential listings from property professionals in Britain.

“Today’s announcement marks an important milestone for our business following a number of years of strong growth and having built a market-leading proposition,” Alex Chesterman, Zoopla’s founder and chief executive, said at the time.

If an over-allotment of shares is fully exercised, Zoopla expects to realize proceeds of £369.9 million, or about $627.6 million. The public float, excluding any over-allotment, represented 38.3 percent of Zoopla’s share capital.

Daily Mail and General Trust, which is the publisher of The Daily Mail newspaper and its popular website, reduced its holdings in Zoopla through the offering, retaining a 33.7 percent stake before the exercise of the additional share allotment.

The full article can be found at NYT DealBook.

Travel Food Company Seeks to Raise $849 Million in London I.P.O.

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BrokerDealer.com/blog update courtesy of extracts from today’s NYT DealBook.

LONDON – The SSP Group, an operator of food and beverage locations at airports and train stations, said on Tuesday that it planned to raise as much as $849 million in an initial public offering in London.

SSP, formerly known as Select Service Partner, is the latest company backed by private equity to plan an I.P.O. amid a rush of offerings in London, with more than $9 billion raised so far this year, according to Thomson Reuters.

The company, whose brands include Caffè Ritazza and Upper Crust, was acquired by the Swedish private equity firm EQT Partners in 2006.

“An I.P.O. is the appropriate next step for a business of SSP’s caliber, size and international scale and we believe that we are well-placed for life as a listed company,” Kate Swann, the SSP chief executive and the former top executive at the retailer WH Smith.

SSP plans to raise about 500 million pounds, or about $849 million, in the I.P.O. and will use the proceeds to reduce its debt.

EQT, the company’s management and other investors will also have an opportunity to sell shares in the offering, which will be made to institutional investors.

SSP, which is based in London, was formed in 1961 as SAS Catering, a division of the airline group SAS.

The company operates 1,981 food and beverage outlets in airports, railway stations and other travel locations in 29 countries in Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East and employs about 30,000 people worldwide. The company also operates an onboard catering service, Rail Gourmet.

The full article can be found at NYT DealBook.

Euronext anticipated its IPO value to be more than $2.4 Billion this year

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BrokerDealer.com/blog update courtesy of extracts from today’s NYT DealBook

Euronext’s initial public offering looks like a tough sell. The firm is seeking a valuation of 1.3 billion euros to 1.8 billion euros when it floats later this month. Anchor investors have a vested interest in backing the issue. But for other buyers, it is a leap of faith.

The IntercontinentalExchange Group is selling down its holding in the unit after inheriting the business through its purchase of NYSE Euronext last year.

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The NYSE Euronext cash markets operations.

Euronext’s initial public offering looks like a tough sell. The firm is seeking a valuation of 1.3 billion euros to 1.8 billion euros when it floats later this month. Anchor investors have a vested interest in backing the issue. But for other buyers, it is a leap of faith.

The IntercontinentalExchange Group is selling down its holding in the unit after inheriting the business through its purchase of NYSE Euronext last year.

Some of the I.P.O. shares have already been allocated. Cornerstone investors, mainly banks, are to buy a third of the shares at a slight discount to the I.P.O. price, in return for a three-year lockup. As users, their involvement makes sense.

Ten percent of the offering is set aside for retail investors, with another 2 percent set aside for other institutions. That may add some needed tension to the process.

Euronext’s pitch is that it will benefit from European economic recovery, a global shift from bonds to stocks, and increased capital markets activity as European banks scale back lending. It also wants to diversify away from plain-vanilla equity trading into derivatives. As a result, the group expects to achieve average annual revenue growth of 5 percent, and margins on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of 45 percent.

Those targets may be more conservative than some peers. But they look a stretch given recent performance.

Revenue fell 11 percent in 2012 and 3 percent in 2013. The London Stock Exchange increased revenue in both years. First-quarter revenue in the current year also fell from a year earlier. Annual Ebitda margins were last above 45 percent in 2011. The forthcoming Financial Transactions Tax, and a possibly secular reduction in trading activity, could restrict any upturn in volumes.

The full article can be found at NYT DealBook.

BrokerDealer Credit Suisse Back in the IPO Business

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Brokerdealer.com/blog news extract below courtesy of  June 10 WSJ and reporters Telis Demis and Evelyn Rusi

The chinos are gone. So is the sprawling Silicon Valley hub.

facing eastBut more than a decade after its fall from the peak of the dot-com-banking business, Credit Suisse Group AG CSGN.VX -0.33% is at the helm of some of the sector’s biggest deals.

The bank is one of the lead managers of the expected $20 billion-plus initial public offering for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the Chinese online shopping and e-commerce giant.

Credit Suisse also helped lead IPOs for Weibo Corp. WB +1.39% , which operates a Twitter TWTR +2.61% -like service, and online cosmetics retailer Jumei International Holding Ltd. JMEI +0.82% , earlier this year.

Credit Suisse’s climb back in tech banking began with a Starbucks SBUX -0.77% -fueled brainstorming session in 2010 between Jim Amine, the firm’s global head of investment banking, and David Wah, global head of technology banking Continue reading →