3 Minutes to Read (Reuters) – LONDON (Reuters) – Bridgepoint, a private equity firm, announced on Tuesday that it aims to list on the London Stock Exchange, raising at least £300 million ($416 million) from new shares to help fund its development goals and pay down debt. The move to list comes after a strong few years for private markets, as more investors seek yield in a world of low interest rates from central banks. Private equity purchases have increased in the United Kingdom this year, generating worries from some public shareholders and media about whether buyout firms are exploiting COVID-19 and Brexit to acquire companies at bargain prices. Bridgepoint was founded in 2000 after a management buyout of NatWest’s private equity business. It specializes in mid-sized projects of up to 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion). Itsu, an Asian-inspired restaurant chain, Wiggle, a cycling retailer, and Burger King’s France and UK locations are among the firm’s stakes. The organization, which manages 27.4 billion euros across a variety of private equity and debt funds, expects a free-float of at least 25% and an over-allotment option of up to 15% of the offer size, according to the statement. It said that it will sell 300 million new shares and that certain current investors would sell down their holdings. According to a source familiar with the arrangement, the overall share sale is expected to raise roughly 500 million pounds and value the company at around 2 billion pounds. The deal’s global co-ordinators are JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley. Bridgepoint’s total operating income in 2020 was 191.8 million pounds, with “substantial further profitable growth” recorded in the first quarter of current fiscal year, according to the company. “We’ve established the global leader in middle market growth investing over the last 30 years, with strength and depth across two very complimentary strategies in private equity and private credit,” said William Jackson, Bridgepoint’s Executive Chair. “Bridgepoint is expanding its global footprint across Europe, North America, and Asia. As we continue to improve our existing strategy and broaden our platform, we expect this robust growth to continue in the immediate and long term.” (1 dollar = 0.8391 euro) (1 pound = 0.7210 pound) Simon Jessop contributed reporting. Rachel Armstrong and Mark Potter edited the piece. Continue reading
