CBL shares priced at $1.55 in bookbuild, lower end of range

Friday 18th September 2015

CBL Corp, which sells credit surety and financial risk insurance, has had its shares priced at $1.55 in a bookbuild yesterday, the lower end of the range, as it looks to raise $90 million in new capital via an initial public offering.

The offer price gives the company an implied market capitalisation of $340.5 million, below the maximum $389 million if the shares had been priced at the top of the $1.45 to $1.85 share price range. The Auckland based firm is also raising less than the $132 million originally sought, with $125 million in total to be raised from the sale, more than two thirds of which will go to fund growth.

The broker firm offer opens on Monday and will run through to Oct. 6, before the listing a week later on Oct. 13. CBL will be dual-listed on the NZX and ASX.

CBL, which began as Contractors Bonding Ltd in 1973, derives almost 98 percent of its revenue from international operations. The company expects a listing to increase its profile, broaden its investor base, increase its regulatory capital capacity, and help fund growth, including the acquisition of Australian insurer Assetinsure.

The company's net profit for 2014 rose 8 percent to $19.4 million on gross written premiums of $242 million. It is forecasting gross written premiums of $335 million this year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

Comments from our readers

No comments yet