Mega-Misys IPO Trimmed: Firm Slashes Expectations By £1bn

Misys, the British banking software business, has slashed the value of its initial public offering by £1bn.

The London-based business is currently privately owned by Vista Equity Partners, which purchased Misys for £1.3bn back when it delisted in 2012, and has more than 4,600 employees on a global basis. It had first listed in London for only £8m in 1987.

A planned listing on the London Stock Exchange was proposed to bring in £4.5bn, although the company has asked the UK Listing Authority if it could float just 20 per cent of itself, rather than the typical 25 per cent.

Despite the slash in its valuation, Misys's public offering will be the largest ever initial public offering for a technology company in London, exceeding even Sophos's £1bn in 2015.

According to The Sunday Times, which first reported the cut, these issues are affecting the market in general, stating: ”Several companies have in recent days cancelled listing plans, or been forced to cut their asking price.”

Other potential business which had thought to go public of late have been spooked by the plummeting value of the sterling, as well as the UK's trading future following the government's restated commitment to Brexit, even at the cost of losing tariff-free access to the European Union's single market.

Car-parts maker TI Fluid Systems slammed the brakes on a planned London listing late last week, as did fitness chain Pure Gym, both blaming the turbulent market, while refuse collector Biffa cut its share price by a third to list at 180p. ®

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