GPH raises £155m as float prices at lower end of range
GLOBAL Ports Holding made a subdued debut on the London Stock Exchange yesterday after its shares were priced at the bottom of the company’s range.
The cruise and cargo port operator priced at 740p a share, the low end of the 735p to 875p range management had hoped for, before ending the day up 1.4pc at 750p in conditional trading.
This values GPH, which has 14 ports handling 7.8m cruise ship passengers a year, at £473m, with 33.3pc of the shares in public hands.
Emre Sayin, chief executive, played down the lower pricing, saying he was “pleased with the strong interest” in the flotation and “looked forward to exploring growth opportunities” as a public company.
The listing raised £154.5m, of which about a third will be used to grow GPH. It is targeting expansion in the Mediterranean – where GPH has almost a 25pc market share – and the Caribbean and Asia. The remainder will be split between owners Istanbul-based Global Investment Holdings, which held almost 90pc of the business prior to the float, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which controlled the remainder. A 180-day lock-up is in place preventing them from selling shares without prior permission.
Earlier this year GPH appointed Lord Mandelson to its board. Mr Sayin said that the former EU trade commissioner’s network of global contacts would help the company access new markets. GPH is currently in talks with nine ports in Europe, seven ports in the Caribbean and four ports in Asia.
It was hoped that GPH would give the London IPO market a much needed boost. A raft of deals have been pulled amid the backdrop of economic uncertainity, making this the slowest year since 2012.
The flotation also included a retail offering, although investors who applied for more than £10,000 of shares have seen their allocation over that amount scaled back. While it priced at the lower end of hopes, it was still the third biggest float of the year so far, behind only Biopharma Credit, which was valued at £611m, and Eddie Stobart Logistics at £572m.
The shares will begin open trading on May 17.