SSP Group plc (LSE:SSPG) shares jumped 6.8% after the Upper Crust owner said the initial public offer of its Indian joint venture, Travel Food Services, was expected to be valued at around £1.2 billion.
TFS has filed a draft prospectus with Indian regulators, the FTSE 250 group said in a statement on Wednesday, setting an IPO price band between 1,045 and 1,100 Indian Rupees per share, implying a market valuation for TFS of approximately 137.6 to 144.8 billion Indian Rupees, or £1.17-1.23 billion at current exchange rates.
Ahead of the IPO, SSP is acquiring an additional 1.01% stake in TFS for around £12.5 million to increase its ownership to a controlling 50.01%.
Trading in TFS shares should begin on the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges on Monday, 14 July.
JV partners, the Kapur Family Trust, will sell shares amounting to up to 13.81% of TFS’s capital in the IPO but SSP noted that regulatory conditions require both it and the Kapur family to maintain a combined shareholding of at least 20% for 18 months after listing.
Following the IPO, SSP executives Jonathan Davies, Deputy CEO, and Jonathan Robinson, CEO Asia Pacific, are expected to join the TFS board.
SSP said India remains a key growth market and it will continue supporting TFS’s efforts to consolidate and expand its market-leading position in the fast-growing travel food services sector.