Print and marketing company IVE Group – formerly Blue Star – will list on the ASX before Christmas after brokers underwrote the company’s $75.6 million initial public offering (IPO). Existing shareholders Wolseley PE and the Selig family will retain majority ownership.
Print and marketing company IVE Group – formerly Blue Star – will list on the ASX before Christmas after brokers underwrote the company’s $75.6 million initial public offering (IPO). Existing shareholders Wolseley PE and the Selig family will retain majority ownership.
“The underwriting deal was signed last Friday and at this stage we will list on December 16th,” IVE executive chairman Geoff Selig told Print21. “It’s the best of both worlds for us and we’re feeling a great amount of personal satisfaction. We have a first class register of institutional and retail investors and we’re immensely satisfied that investor demand was so strong.
“This is ultimately a very good news story for our sector,” said Selig. “Print is not disappearing and it won’t disappear. The sector does attract criticism at times but we believe the industry is in a stronger position now than it’s been in ten years and this deal gives us a wonderful opportunity to grow and evolve.
“We’re in a good position after three very fruitful years where we invested $90 million and acquired nine businesses. Now, with the increased capitalisation, we see much larger opportunities in the market and we’ll be looking to double our business in the years ahead. The future looks bright.”
The IPO was priced at $2 a share and implied a market capitalisation of $177.7 million. IVE made an unsuccessful IPO attempt in June that was withdrawn after failing to attract sufficient investor support due to ‘underlying market conditions.’ Prospective investors were told in June that the company was forecasting revenue of $355.7 million with a net profit of $19 million in fiscal year 2016.
The decision late last week by the brokers, Bell Potter Securities and Evans & Partners, to underwrite the IPO followed an institutional bookbuild and retail broker bids. On Friday, IVE lodged a 142-page prospectus which is now available on the company’s website.
Existing investors will retain a 57.5 per cent stake in the listed company. Wolseley Private Equity will be the company's largest shareholder with a 38 per cent stake, while the Selig family will own 15 per cent. Total number of shares on issue will be 88.9 million and the existing owners will hold 51.1 million.
The broker firm offer will open this Friday, December 4, and analysts say the underwriting of the $75.6 million IPO ensures that IVE will trade on the ASX before Christmas.