After years of stalling on IPO market, 2019, at last, marked the way for several technology start-ups going public. The EU market greeted the rising star of the payment gateways — Nexi. The Italian payments company, Nexi, has priced its initial public offering (IPO), valuing the company at €5.7bn (US$6.44bn). The IPO marks one of the largest in Europe for 2019, at €9 ($10.18) per share, Reuters reported. The company runs electronic payments for CartaSi, the credit card operator. Nexi intends to float 35.6% of its shares on the market, which could increase to 40.9% in the event of an overallotment.
The US IPOs of the year are Lyft and Uber, directly competing with each other, sharing close business models and disrupting the private transportation market.
Lyft Inc. prospectus shows that the company plans to report revenue on a net basis, excluding the money paid to drivers. Lyft shares are now listing on the Nasdaq under the ticker LYFT. Lyft is focused on the U.S. market and also has a Canadian business since 2017. The company provides scooter-sharing and bike-sharing services as well. The Wall Street Journal reported valuation of Lyft Inc. at $23 billion.
Uber valuation is by most estimates – uber. The company is planning to sell around $10 billion worth of stock in the IPO, valued between $90 billion and $100 billion, Reuters reported, making it a top contender for the largest IPO for the year, and the largest since Alibaba in 2014.
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs won the top two slots on Uber’s impending IPO — joining with 27 other banks to fill underwriting roles for the company, according to Uber Technology Inc. S-1, filed publicly last Thursday. This filing also showed that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund owns 5% of the company.
In 2019 the US markets welcomed IPOs of Palantir, Airbnb, Pinterest, Rackspace, Slack, Robinhood, Levi Strauss, Peloton and Cloudflare.
What about the significant British IPOs? The British luxury online marketplace, Farfetch, went public in September 2018 and traded at the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker FTCH.
That IPO came after Farfetch recorded a revenue boost. In the 2017, the London-based retailer generated $385mn in revenue, almost 60% jump compared to the 2016 fiscal year.
FTCH shares surged 53 per cent in their market debut on 21.09.18. Its investors placed their bet on the company’s technology assets and strongly developed unique niche in high-end luxury. However, the following months showed up very different dynamics. The e-commerce company’s IPO moment was carefully selected to take place the day after the S&P 500 index hit a record high. Since then, US stocks have fallen. Farfetch was caught up in a broader US stock market decline that has hit tech stocks particularly hard in the end of 2018.
Among companies, that have been rumoured to IPO or have a confirmed intention to list soon in London, there is an interesting one.
Air Astana is the flag carrier of the Republic of Qazaqstan, based in Almaty, Qazaqstan. It is a joint venture between Qazaqstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna (51%), and BAE Systems PLC (49%). At the moment the valuation is not available. For 2018, Air Astana has reported a net profit of US$5.3 million. Total revenue for the airline grew by 10 per cent to $840.8 million, with passenger numbers up 3 per cent to 4.3 million. Capacity measured in ASKs also rose 5 per cent for the year.
Kazatomprom, the Qazaqstan national atomic company, placed 15 per cent of its shares ($431 million) on the London Stock Exchange and Astana International Exchange in November 2018. It was the first Qazaqstan company listed in London. Shares were purchased by 49 foreign and 17 local companies and 2,700 Qazaq citizens.
“Oracle Capital Advisors offers portfolio management, brokerage and private equity services through its Bahamas office. Our service is backed with a broad range of licenses that enable us to provide clients with flexible, customisable solutions, that allow the client to gain from diverse IPO and PreIPO offers on American and European markets. For our clients, we offer portfolio investments through structures designed for complex cases. They also benefit from a host of our service offering: estate planning, corporate services and wealth management. We pride ourselves on being nimble and evolving as opposed to our bloated competitors who are too often rigid and encumbered with bureaucracy and expenses.”
Oleg Nikityuk,
Director, Oracle Capital Group Bahamas
