Housebuilder Glenveagh Properties formally commenced trading in Dublin on Friday in what is the second largest initial public offering (IPO) on the Irish Stock Exchange this year.
The company has raised €500 million after listing on the main securities market and now has a market capitalisation of €696 million following conditional trading earlier in the week.
The market capitalisation will increase if, as expected, the brokers behind the sale, Credit Suisse and Davy, exercise an option to place an additional 50 million of shares on the market within 30 days of the flotation. The shares were sold in the IPO at a price of €1 each.
The flotation is the second largest of the year in Dublin after AIB, which raised €3.4billion in the biggest IPO in Europe in 2017.
Glenveagh, the second housebuilder to list on the ISE this year following the admission of Cairn Homes in July, is primarily focused on Dublin. It has set itself a target of building 1,000 new homes a year by 2020, rising to 2,000 over the longer term.
The company has been created through the combination of assets of US private equity firm Oaktree Capital and Maynooth-based builder Bridgedale.
Primary listing
Following a bell-ringing ceremony at the ISE in Dublin, Glenveagh chief executive Justin Bickle said the primary listing had given it a platform to raise funds from a broad range of international investors.
“The Irish economy needs more houses and apartments and our listing is a key step in making Glenveagh a scale provider of housing that can help to address the supply shortage,” he said.
“Our IPO, and the significant capital now available to us, leaves us well placed to meet the construction targets we have set for ourselves,” Mr Bickle added.
Major shareholder
Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, which has a significant stake in Eir, this week emerged as a major shareholder in the housebuilder.
Deirdre Somers, ISE Chief Executive, said: "We are delighted to welcome Glenveagh Properties PLC to the Main Securities Market. Their successful IPO demonstrates the strong interest from international investors in Glenveagh and the Irish economy more generally.
Glenveagh closed down 0.2 per cent in Dublin on Friday to €1.12.
