Saturday April 5,2014 : SAFECHARGE IPO RAISES $125 MILLION (Update)
Over demand as shares launch on AIM market
Teddy Sagi's payment solutions provider SafeCharge launched its shares on the London Stock Exchange Alternative Investment Market (LSE AIM) today (Wednesday) with an initial public offering (IPO) of 149 759 260 Ordinary Shares selling at a placing price of 162 pence.
The IPO raised $125 Million, $25 Million more than Sagi had predicted, giving the company a market capitalisation of around US$400 million, again above analysts expectations which were estimated to be within the GBP 210 million – GBP 230 million range.
Sagi held a 97.1 percent stake in SafeCharge prior to its IPO with the remaining 2.9 percent held by chief executive officer and founder David Avgi.
The LSE AIM listing saw Sagi's stake in SafeCharge diluted to 66 percent, JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Ltd acquired 6.25 percent and Henderson Global Investors 5 percent.
”We are delighted with SafeCharge’s IPO and successful admission to AIM," said Avgi. "The substantial over demand from high quality institutional investors is a strong endorsement of our business model and investment proposition. The proceeds of the Placing will be deployed to accelerate the Company’s growth strategy both through acquisition and organic means. Furthermore the Board believes that the listing on AIM will improve the Group’s profile in attracting prospective clients.”