Joint lead managers Evans & Partners and Bell Potter are calling for retail bids next week ahead of the planned stock market float by printing and marketing company ive Group – formerly Blue Star.
Bids are due in by June 10 ahead of an institutional bookbuild on June 11. If all goes according to plan, ive will lodge a prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on June 12 and begin trading on July 2.
The launch will create a publicly listed printing-based company in Australia that will rival PMP, the largest printer in the industry, in capitalisation if not in size. IPMG, the privately held Hannan-family printer, is usually regarded as the largest Australian-based printing company once PMP's New Zealand holdings are discounted. ive's sharemarket bid follows last year's failed amalgamation by IPMG and Blue Star. It does not involve Blue Star NZ, which is a separate company
ive executive chairman Geoff Selig, managing director Warwick Hay and other senior executives briefed Sydney-based fund managers on Monday, with the company forecasting revenue of $355.7 million and net profit of $19 million in fiscal year 2016.
New details continue to emerge regarding the structure of the proposed deal. Wolseley Private Equity is now said to be seeking to retain a stake of just over 24 per cent in ive Group as part of a $100 million-plus initial public offering.
Wolseley's stake would drop from 69.5 percent to 24.4 per cent as part of the IPO, while the Selig Family's shareholding would go from 21.9 per cent to 11.9 per cent, according to a report in the Australian Financial Review.
Potential investors have been told that ive is seeking to raise $102 million to $112 million to list with up to a $190 million market capitalisation on July 2. New investors are expected to account for 59.2 per cent of the company on listing.