Ithaca Energy is likely to price at the lower end of its guidance when its planned flotation is concluded later this week, according to reports.
Reuters said Monday that the company’s long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) would likely achieve between 250 and 270 pence per share – at the lower end of its previously estimated price range of 250 to 310 pence – according to bookrunners overseeing the transaction.
The revision suggests Ithaca’s total valuation is likely to be closer to £2.5 billion compared with its upper guidance of up to £3.1 billion.
However, books are reportedly already oversubscribed at the revised price range ahead of their closure on Tuesday 8 November, the sources said.
The firm had been seeking to raise as much as £310m through the IPO – London’s second-largest this year after Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Ming Yang Smart Energy Group which raised $757m.
It marks a climbdown from earlier reports that the company was seeking to raise as much as $1bn.
Proceeds are being used to pay down debt.
Following the closure of books on Tuesday, the first day of trading and setting of the stock price is set to to begin on November 9.
Ithaca is a unit of Israeli conglomerate Delek Group and has steadily grown its portfolio in recent years.
The firm, which posted pre-tax profits of some £1.45bn in the first half of the year, also has stakes in some of the largest untapped resources in UK waters including operatorship of the Cambo development West of Shetland and a holding in the Rosebank field in the same region.
A period of rampant growth for the firm has seen high-profile deals for Marubeni, Summit Exploration and Siccar Point Energy.
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