(Reuters) – British money transfer group CAB Payments has sold up to 335 million pounds ($426 million) worth of shares in its initial public offering (IPO), the company said on Thursday, giving a boost to London’s capital markets.
The amount includes shares placed through an over-allotment option that banks may exercise once the stock fully debuts on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on July 11.
Shares were sold at a fixed price of 3.35 pounds, implying a market capitalisation for the payments group of 851 million pounds.
“Deciding to list signifies our confidence in the proposition we bring to clients and our new, enlarged investor base, as well as the confidence that we have in the UK as the home for innovative and growing global fintech businesses,” Chief Executive Bhairav Trivedi said in a statement.
CAB Payments’ IPO comes amid a debate about the appeal of London as a capital markets centre, following a string of high-profile moves by domestic or locally listed firms to other bourses.
Earlier this year, Cambridge-based chipmaker Arm rebuffed a campaign from the British government to list its shares in London, saying it would pursue a flotation on a U.S.
exchange.
Last month, natural soda ash producer WE Soda cancelled plans to list in London over a valuation dispute with investors.
But while listing activity remains subdued amid soaring interest rates, Britain saw a 29% uptick in cash raised through IPOs in the first half of the year, according to data from consultancy EY, in a sign markets may be starting to bounce back.
“The London IPO market continues to experience challenges with macroeconomic and geopolitical pressures having an adverse impact on businesses looking to list in the UK,” EY’s IPO leader for the UK and Ireland, Scott McCubbin, said in a statement this week.
“These headwinds will need to abate to enable real growth, however with some larger IPOs expected in 2024 and a strong pipeline, the long-term outlook looks more positive.”
($1 = 0.7870 pounds)
(Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro in London; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
