JP Morgan has fully underwritten the
rights issue on a volume basis, and is
expected to be joined by Numis at launch.
The Restaurant Group announced the
rights issue alongside plans to purchase the
Asian-food chain for a cash payment of
£357m and an enterprise value of £559m.
Together with the rights issue proceeds,
TRG will draw on a £220m revolving credit
facility to fund the buy-out.
News of the acquisition and rights issue
last Tuesday sent TRG’s share price into free
fall, with the share price closing at 245.80p,
down 17% from Monday’s close of 297.20.
Share prices recovered somewhat
throughout the week but remained
subdued, closing Thursday at 259.2p.
Shareholder approval will be sought at a
general meeting in early November, and if
all goes to plan, the acquisition will be
completed by mid-December 2018.
The Restaurant Group will add
Wagamama to its existing portfolio of well-
known restaurant chains including Frankie
& Benny’s, Garfunkel’s and Chiquito.
GRESHAM EXTENDS ENERGY STORAGE
FUND IPO TIMETABLE
Asset manager Gresham House extended
BOOKBUILDINGûFORûITSûaMû!)-ûmOATûOFû
GRESHAM HOUSE ENERGY STORAGE FUND in a bid to
meet the minimum £100m proceeds target.
Gresham said that it had received more
THANûûlRMûANDûINDICATIVEûORDERSûPRIORûTOû
the extension.
4HEûmOATûHADûBEENûDUEûTOûCOMPLETEûONû
Wednesday but was then extended to
yesterday, November 2. The offer for
subscription closed on yesterday at 11am
and the placing at 12pm. Trading begins on
Wednesday, November 7. There was no
indication of a result following yesterday’s
London close.
Funds from the IPO will be deployed on
ANûIDENTIlEDûPORTFOLIOûWITHINûûMONTHSûOFû
listing, with the seed portfolio comprising
lVEûFULLYûOPERATIONALûBATTERYûSTORAGEûANDû
generator sites.
Cantor Fitzgerald is managing the IPO.
MERIAN CHRYSALIS INVESTMENT CO IPO
RAISES £100m
MERIAN CHRYSALIS INVESTMENT COMPANY has
raised £100m in an LSE initial public
offering, achieving half of its original target
of £200m.
A total of 100m new shares were sold at
£1 each, with trading set to begin on
November 6.
4HEûNEWLYûCREATEDûFUNDûISûBEINGûmOATEDû
by Merian Global Investors, the rebrand of
Old Mutual Global Investors, following its
buyout by its management team and funds
MANAGEDûBYû4!û!SSOCIATESû4HEûPARENTûlRMû
will be investment advisor to the new
Merian Chrysalis Investment Company.
Members of Merian Global Investor’s
small and mid-cap investment team will
head the new fund, and they also intended
to invest £3m in the fund’s IPO, according to
the deal prospectus.
Liberum was global coordinator, sponsor
ANDûlNANCIALûADVISERûONûTHEûDEAL ûWORKINGû
alongside Zeus Capital as joint bookrunner.SIRIUS AIRCRAFT LEASING FUND IPO
TAKES OFFSIRIUS AIRCRAFT LEASING FUND has opened the
books on its US$250m London listing.
0RICINGûISûlXEDûATûaûPERûNEWûSHAREûANDû
bookbuilding runs until November 15.
There is also a 12-month placing
programme offering 300m shares.
4HEûNEWûFUNDûISûBEINGûmOATEDûBYûAûFORMERû
2YANAIRûCHIEFûlNANCIALûOFlCER ûANDûITûWILLû
invest in used, single-aisle aircraft on lease
to airlines.
The fund sees an opportunity to capitalise
on the liquid market for older aircraft.
Lessors sell them on to maintain a lower
AVERAGEûAGEûFORûTHEIRûmEETS ûANDûTHEREûISûALSOû
demand for them because they are cheaper
to operate, the company said.
Liberum is sponsor on the deal, and joint
lNANCIALûADVISERûANDûJOINTûPLACINGûAGENTû
with Davy.AMERICAS
UNITED STATES
MIDTERMS KEEP US ECM LIGHTA stock market rebound in recent sessions
has put a brighter complexion on the end-of-
year US ECM outlook, though Tuesday’s
mid-term Congressional elections and a
short funding window through to
4HANKSGIVINGûCOULDûKEEPûDEALûmOWûTOûAû
minimum in November.
The past week saw just three IPOs price
(Axonics Modulation Technologies, Twist
Bioscience and Orchard Therapeutics).
4HEYûDELIVEREDûmATûAFTERMARKETû
PERFORMANCE ûREmECTINGûINûSEVERALûCASESûTHEIRû
heavy reliance on support from existing
shareholders rather than new investors.
The coming week is bereft of domestic
IPO pricings though Chinese-based lender
CNFinance will aim to price an up to
US$55m US IPO post-close Tuesday, again
underpinned by support from existing
holders.Yet the IPO market, and almost
EVERYTHINGûELSE ûWILLûPLAYûSECONDûlDDLEûTOû
politics in the coming week.
Pollsters expect Tuesday’s Congressional
elections to result in the Democrats retaking
control of the House and Republicans
retaining control of the Senate, a result one
banker said would result in “more noise and
gridlock”.
Alternatively, investors may simply
welcome the cessation of electioneering.
Either way, bankers across the Street
expect few IPOs to price through to the end
of the year in the wake of October’s stock
swoon.
November has started more positively,
helped by another strong earnings season
and good economic data (including Friday’s
job numbers).
Economists expect the US Federal Reserve
to increase interest rates in December and
the prospect of a quicker pace of future rate
rises is one cited trigger for recent volatility.
The VIX fell back below 20 late in the
week, possibly providing some
encouragement for a small number of
issuers to push ahead through the
uncertainty.
Talk of a potential resolution of the US’s
so-called “trade war” with China has also
buoyed markets, though the back and forth
looks sure to continue for the time-being.
Companies such as fashion e-commerce
platform Revolve and software provider
Qualtrics International are in a position to
launch their IPOs if they wish but these
companies will have to straddle
considerable uncertainty if they decide to
hit the road this month. A further
complication is Thanksgiving (November 22)
falling earlier than normal this year, which
will make it hard for the IPO market to build
much momentum this month.
As for the secondary market, some companies
(Consolidated Edison is one example) have a
stated need to raise equity in 2018 and several
sponsor blocks last week suggest private equityUS EQUITIES
BOOKRUNNERS: 1/1/2018 TO DATE
Managing No of Total Share
bank or group issues US$(m) (%)
1 Morgan Stanley 135 20,070.11 13.1
2 Goldman Sachs 120 17,691.84 11.6
3 JP Morgan 159 17,166.96 11.2
4 Citigroup 112 13,860.80 9.0
5 BAML 117 11,540.83 7.5
6 Barclays 74 10,373.98 6.8
7 Credit Suisse 79 7,967.25 5.2
8 Wells Fargo 63 6,437.25 4.2
9 Jefferies 96 5,730.34 3.7
10 RBC 63 5,279.38 3.4
Total 688 153,163.25
Including all domestic and international deals and rights issues
Source: Refinitiv SDC code: C3r