Website firm’s float is set to raise £366m

Jul 27 2007 by Tony McDonough, Liverpool Daily Post

CHESTER area-based price comparison website moneysupermarket.com says its flotation on the London stock market next week will be priced at the very bottom end of the price range at 170p a share.

The Initial Public Offering is the UK’s largest-ever internet offering and the biggest worldwide since Google Inc in 2004 and will value the company at £843m.

The offer size will be £366m – representing around 43.4% of the company – giving it net proceeds of around £170m which will be used to repay debt and fund future growth.

Moneysupermarket.com employs 600 staff at its headquarters at Ewloe and, earlier this month, announced shares in the company would be priced between 170p and 210p. The higher figure would have given the company a valuation of close to £1bn.

Chief executive and co-founder Simon Nixon, who will pocket just over £100m from the IPO, insisted yesterday that he was not disappointed that the listing was at the bottom of the price scale.

“No, it's in the range, and as the largest internet IPO in Britain, we feel pretty happy given the current climate,” he said.

Mr Nixon will own 54.8% of the company following the float and is locked in along with some of his senior staff for three years.

But all employees in the business will also benefit from the move to take the company to the stock market as each will receive £3,000 worth of shares.

The group has said the listing will help it raise its profile as a “consumer champion” and give it the opportunity to fund expansion into different areas and new countries.