Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.
CMC Markets, an online brokerage of forex and contracts for difference (CFDs), has set the price of its initial public offering (IPO) at £2.40 per share, the broker said on Friday in a filing with the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The company plans to offer 90.6 million ordinary shares, which equals 31% of CMC Markets’ capital.
Based on the share price, the broker’s market cap is estimated at about £691 million.
Conditional dealings of the shares was launched earlier today, while unconditional dealings are scheduled to start on 10 February with the opening of the trading day.
The company intends to list on the premium segment of the Official List and to trade on the main market of the LSE. CMC Markets expects to raise some £218 million from the share issue and to hike its capital by £15 million.
Morgan Stanley & Co. International has been assigned as a stabilizing manager for the IPO and has been granted the authority to exercise an overallotment option for up to 13.6 million additional CMC Markets shares, or 15% of the offer. A company is allowed to issue up to 15% of the IPO offering in case of oversubsrciption.
CMC Markets founders Peter and Fiona Cruddas will together continue to hold a majority ownership. After the listing, they will own 62.5% of the group’s ordinary shares, compared to their current ownership of 90% in the brokerage. Meanwhile, UK-based Goldman Sachs Strategic Investments will hold a stake of 4.99%.
“The IPO marks the next step in our development. […] We have been very pleased with the response of investors to the offer and thank them for the strong interest they have shown, Peter Cruddas, founder and CEO of CMC Markets, said. “Our performance since the start of 2016 continues to be strong, helped by the ongoing market volatility, and we start our life as a public company well-positioned for continued growth and to deliver value for all of our shareholders.”
CMC Markets, set up in 1989, initiated an IPO procedure in 2007, but then called it off with the coming of the global financial crisis. It operated in more than 70 countries worldwide with offices in 14. Its main markets are the UK, Australia, Gemany and Singapore.
The broker offers trading via its proprietary trading platform Next Generation for more than 10,000 financial instruments, including forex, shares, indices, commodities and treasuries through CFDs and spread betting.
Source: LSE
