British wound dressings maker Convatec (LON:CTEC) has bucked recent trends and successfully completed the biggest initial public offering (IPO) on the London stock market this year.
Reading-based Convatec issued 659.7mln shares at 225p to raise around £1.48bn, valuing the firm at more than £4bn.
Private equity owners Nordic capital and Avista Capital Partners have used the listing to offload part of their stakes in the business, although they will retain a 45.1% and 19.5% stake in the firm, respectively.
The company has said that most of the cash windfall will be used to pay down some of its debt. Its net debt sits at just above £3.3bn, or more than seven times its adjusted cash profits, while it hopes the IPO will see that fall to 3.5times, or £1.66bn.
Convatec – which employs 1,000 staff in the UK and a further 8,000 around the world – has managed to bring some corporate heavyweights onto its board as well.
Former Vodafone boss and ex-chairman of GlaxoSmithKline Sir Christopher Gent will become chairman, while former National Grid boss Steve Holliday and Rick Anderson, who was once group chairman of Johnson & Johnson, will also join the board of the newly-listed company.
Chief executive Paul Moraviec said: “We are very pleased by the investor interest in our IPO.
“We have implemented a clear growth strategy which is now showing solid results through product innovation, new market entry and investments in direct-to-consumer engagement.”
Convatec’s listing comes against a challenging backdrop for new issues in London, with investors seemingly unsure of stumping up the cash despite the FTSE soaring to new heights.
Several companies, including Misys and The Gym Group, have recently pulled plans to list on the London Stock Exchange, while others such as waste disposal firm Biffa have been forced to slash their prices in a bid to keep their IPO flames alight.