Rottapharm, an Italian Drug Maker, Sets Price Range for IPO

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

LONDON — The Italian drug maker Rottapharm said on Tuesday that it expected an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares later this month to value the company at up to 1.8 million euros, or about $2.46 billion.

ROTTAPHARM

Rottapharm, which operates under the name Rottapharm|Madaus, said that it expected to price its offering of 50 million shares at €7.25 to €9 a share. The bottom end of the price range would value the company at about €1.45 billion.

The offering represents about 25 percent of Rottapharm’s share capital, and it expects to list on the Mercato Telematico Azionario of the Borsa Italiana exchange in Milan. The company said on Tuesday that Italian securities regulators had signed off on its listing.

“Through the IPO, we will have the opportunity to present to the financial community the innovative and distinctive values of our business model,” Luca Rovati, Rottapharm’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “Our entry into the capital markets is consistent with our growth strategy through new acquisitions, the launch of new products and expansion into new markets.”

About 5 percent of the offering, or about 2.5 million shares, will be sold to retail investors in Italy. The rest will be sold to institutional investors. The offer can be increased by up to another 10 million shares, depending on demand.

The shares are being sold by an investment vehicle controlled by the Rovati family, Rottapharm’s owners. The family will remain the drug maker’s largest shareholder after the offering.

The offer period is expected to end on July 10.

Founded in 1961, Rottapharm is the maker of Dona, which is used to manage pain associated with osteoarthritis; Legalon, a treatment for liver disorders; and Reparil, an anti-inflammatory and pain reducer. The company employs more than 2,000 employees in 85 countries worldwide.

The full article can be found at NYT DealBook.

Xinhua Unit Is On Track for IPO; China News Agency Goes Public

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BrokerDealer.com blog extends thanks to the Wall Street Journal’s Shen Hong for providing coverage regarding the Xinhua News Agency initial public offering. See below link for full story. in Wall Street Journal today’s article.

SHANGHAI—China’s official news service is on track for an initial public offering of its digital arm, as Beijing seeks to transform its staid propaganda organs into modernized entities.

If the plan proceeds, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency would become the second of the Communist Party’s state-run media outlets to sell stock to the public, following the IPO two years ago of People.cn Co. 603000.SH -3.31%, the website of the authorities’ flagship newspaper, the People’s Daily.

In recent years, Beijing has encouraged its state-run media to tap the capital markets for funds and to use modern tools to boost the influence of the propaganda machines that it has used for decades to deliver its message to the Chinese people. Analysts say the government also hopes its propaganda arms can help it to promote “soft power”—cultural heft around the world through media such as movies and television shows—as well as to develop a thriving domestic media industry.

Xinhuanet Co., which operates the 83-year-old news agency’s main website Xinhuanet.com, released the preliminary IPO prospectus for a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on the Chinese securities regulator’s website late Friday. Continue reading →

British Roadside Assistance Company AA Raises $2.36 Billion in I.P.O.

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

LONDON – The AA, the British roadside assistance provider, raised 1.39 billion pounds, or about $2.36 billion, in its initial public offering in London on Monday.

The AA priced its offering of 554 million shares at £2.50 a share, a price it had announced earlier this month, giving it a market capitalization of £1.39 billion.

Shares of the AA declined 4 percent to £2.39 in conditional trading in London on Monday morning. Unrestricted trading of the AA’s shares is expected to begin on Thursday.

The offering represents the final dismantling of Acromas, which was created in 2007 by the merger of the AA and Saga, a seller of travel and insurance packages focusing on people older than 50.

Saga was spun off in an initial public offering in May. Saga’s stock has traded below its offer price in recent weeks.

Acromas, which is owned by the private equity firms CVC Capital Partners, Charterhouse Capital Partners and Permira, had been expected to retain a 31 percent stake in the AA after the spinoff, but agreed to sell its entire stake in the offering, which was oversubscribed.

Separately, River and Mercantile Group, a British investment manager, raised about £41.5 million in its initial public offering on Monday. The company priced its public offering at £1.83 a share, giving it a market capitalization of about £150.2 million.

The company, which did not provide an expected share price range when it announced in May its plans to go public, was formed in February by the merger of River and Mercantile Asset Management and P-Solve, a fellow investment manager.

Through June 16, 55 London I.P.O.s have raised £9.4 billion, compared with £2.5 billion during the same period in 2013, according to Thomson Reuters.

The AA, founded in 1905 as the Automobile Association, is Britain’s largest provider of breakdown assistance, with about a 40 percent share of the roadside help market. About 16 million drivers subscribe to the AA’s products.

Its roadside assistance packages start around £95 a year for the first year of coverage. The company also provides breakdown coverage for businesses, as well as a variety of home, travel and other insurance products.

The full article can be found at NYT DealBook.

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.