London: Finablr, Abu Dhabi billionaire Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty’s financial-services firm, slashed the price for its initial public offering after struggling to find investors for its London sale.
The holding company, whose businesses include Travelex Holdings Ltd. and the UAE Exchange Centre LLC, revised the offer price to 175 pence (Dh8.32) per share from an original range of 210 pence to 260 pence, according to a term sheet. The new price implies a market value of £1.23 billion ($1.6 billion) versus an initial indicated value of as much as £1.8 billion.
The company also extended the offer period for its shares by a day to the end of Tuesday, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the process is private.
It’s been a tough week for IPOs as plunging markets made potential buyers nervous. Uber Technologies Inc. priced its share sale toward the bottom of its marketed range, and the stock has plummeted almost 18 per cent since trading began on Friday.
Finablr’s share sale opened on May 1 and came in the wake of Dubai-based Network International Holdings Plc’s successful London listing, the largest IPO on the exchange so far this year.
Shetty set up Finablr last year to consolidate his financial services brands. The firm handled more than 150 million transactions in 2018, according to its website. Shetty is also the founder of NMC Health Plc, which trades in London.
