(Alliance News) - The London Stock Exchange got a big new listing on Tuesday. Petershill Partners announced the pricing of its initial public offering at 350 pence each, giving the investment firm created by Goldman Sachs a market capitalisation of GBP4.0 billion.
Petershill said the IPO consisted of 156.3 million new shares and 176.3 million existing shares. It will have 1.16 billion shares on admission.
Petershill raised GBP1.0 billion in total, or up to GBP1.2 billion if the greenshoe option is taken in full. The company will have a free float of 25%, or 29% after the greenshoe, which is an over-allotment option for the investment banks running an IPO.
Conditional dealings on the London Main Market start on Tuesday, with unconditional trading to follow on Friday.
Chair Naguib Kheraj said: "We are delighted that Petershill Partners will begin trading on the London Stock Exchange, giving public market investors a unique opportunity to gain diversified access to the rapidly growing alternative investment industry. We experienced a high degree of interest from investors, who recognised the unique strength and track record of the Goldman Sachs operator team, the attractive profile and prospects of our alternative asset manager partner firms and the benefit of a fully independent board. We are very happy with the mix of shareholders participating in the offering. We look forward with confidence to delivering long-term value for all our stakeholders."
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 3.21 points at 7,060.19
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Hang Seng: up 1.5% at 24,573.83
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.2% at 30,183.96
DJIA: closed up 71.37 points, or 0.2%, at 34,869.37
S&P 500: closed down 0.3% at 4,443.11
Nasdaq Composite: closed down 0.5% at 14,969.97
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EUR: down at USD1.1685 (USD1.1698)
GBP: flat at USD1.3700 (USD1.3706)
USD: up at JPY111.31 (JPY110.98)
Gold: down at USD1,740.12 per ounce (USD1,752.17)
Oil (Brent): up at USD80.63 a barrel (USD79.48)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Tuesday's Key Economic Events still to come
1100 BST Ireland retail sales
0830 EDT US goods trade balance
0855 EDT US Johnson Redbook retail sales index
0900 EDT US monthly house price index
1000 EDT US consumer confidence index
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Vaccine passports will be required for those attending nightclubs, music venues, festivals and sports grounds in England under the UK government's autumn and winter contingency plan B. The proposal will only be introduced if the country faces a difficult winter with rising Covid cases in the colder months, the government said. It said on Monday it was confident plan A would prevent the NHS from facing unsustainable pressure, but published its plan B saying if it was needed, it would have to act quickly and adopt measures like vaccine certification at short notice. A further 40 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Monday, bringing the UK total to 136,208, and there had been a further 37,960 lab-confirmed cases.
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UK house prices increased by GBP44 per day on average in the six months leading up to August, according to an index. This was up from GBP30 per day typically over the previous six months (July 2020 to January 2021), Zoopla said. Across the UK, the average house price in August was GBP235,000 which is a record high for Zoopla's index. The average property has piled GBP17,508 onto its value since March 2020, the month that the coronavirus lockdowns in the UK started. But there have been big variations, and not everywhere has seen prices increasing. While average house prices have increased by GBP23,357 in Cambridge since March 2020, they have fallen by GBP2,600 in Aberdeen over the same period, Zoopla said.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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HSBC RAISES FLUTTER TO 'BUY' (HOLD) - PRICE TARGET 17,400 (14,000) PENCE
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INVESTEC INITIATES ENTAIN WITH 'HOLD' - TARGET 2,400 PENCE
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INVESTEC RESUMES 888 HOLDINGS WITH 'BUY' - TARGET 660 PENCE
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GOLDMAN SACHS CUTS SAGE GROUP TO 'SELL' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 700 (660) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Ferguson said it saw strong annual profit growth which beat consensus estimates, prompting the plumbing and heating supplies specialist to raise its dividend by 15%. For the financial year that ended July 31, revenue was USD22.79 billion, up 14% from USD19.94 billion in financial 2020, and pretax profit was USD1.89 billion, up 46% from USD1.29 billion. Annual trading profit, which excludes exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangible assets, was USD2.18 billion, up 31% from USD1.66 billion. The figure beat company-compiled consensus estimates of USD2.09 billion on revenue that had been forecast at USD22.50 billion. Ferguson lifted its total dividend per share to USD2.394 from USD2.082 in financial 2020. Looking ahead, Ferguson said it started the new financial year with strong momentum. Organic revenue growth is at similar levels to the fourth quarter of financial 2020. "We expect a year of good growth overall, but we anticipate a tapering in the second half on tougher prior year comparatives," said Chief Executive Officer Kevin Murphy. "We are mindful that the recent tailwinds from inflation on gross margins could moderate but for the full year ahead we expect operational improvements to broadly offset headwinds from inflation in the cost base. Given the strong momentum in the business and the agility of our business model, we are well positioned to have a year of good growth and the board continues to look forward to the medium term with confidence," Murphy added.
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Smiths Group reported what it considered a robust annual performance, as the engineer raised its dividend and completed the sale of its medical unit. For the financial year ended July 31, revenue was down 5.5% to GBP2.41 billion from GBP2.55 billion in financial 2020, but pretax profit almost doubled to GBP240 million from GBP133 million. Revenue slightly pipped the market consensus estimate of GBP2.40 billion. Annual operating profit, adjusted for strategic restructuring programme costs and write-downs, was GBP372 million, up 14% from GBP327 million. The figure beat the consensus forecast for operating profit of GBP357 million. Smiths declared a total dividend of 37.7p, up 7.7% from 35.0p. Smiths also said it completed its restructuring programme, with savings delivered ahead of schedule and signed a binding agreement with ICU Medical to sell its Smiths Medical business for USD2.7 billion.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Budget airline easyJet said it received 93% take-up from shareholders for its 31-for-47 rights issue. Some 280.2 million shares were sold at 410 pence each, out of 301.3 million total on offer. The GBP1.24 billion rights issue was fully underwritten, so the remaining shares will be placed by bankers BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Goldman, Santander and Societe Generale.
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The UK government is to take over running services on train operator Southeastern after a "serious breach" of its franchise agreement. Go-Ahead, which owns London & Southeastern Railway alongside Keolis UK, said it regretted the decision, while acknowledging "errors". UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said an investigation by his department identified evidence that since October 2014 the company has not declared more than GBP25 million of historic taxpayer funding which should have been returned. Further investigations are being conducted and the government said it will consider options for more action, including financial penalties. Go-Ahead also said Elodie Brian has resigned as chief financial officer, effective immediately.
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COMPANIES - GLOBAL
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Merck & Co is in the advanced stage of talks to acquire Acceleron Pharma, the Wall Street Journal reported. Citing people familiar with the matter, the newspaper said a deal could be announced this week, unless talks break down. Acceleron shares closed 6.7% higher at USD178.87 in New York on Monday, giving the company a market capitalisation of USD10.89 billion. They rose a further 2.0% after hours. Bloomberg last week reported Acceleron was in talks for a USD11 billion buyout, with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co, which owns just shy of a 12% stake in the pharmaceutical firm, touted by sources as a potential suitor.
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Tuesday's Shareholder Meetings
DWF Group PLC - AGM
First Property Group PLC - AGM
Globalworth Real Estate Investments Ltd - AGM
Ince Group PLC - AGM
Kodal Minerals PLC - AGM
Moonpig Group PLC - AGM
Path Investments PLC - AGM
Purplebricks Group PLC - AGM
Yourgene Health PLC - AGM
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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