Telefonica Deutschland has placed 23.17% of its total share capital at €5.60 (US$7.25) per share in its IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The €1.449bn (US$1.877bn) raised makes it the largest European IPO of 2012.
The pricing was at the lower end…
Telefonica Deutschland has placed 23.17% of its total share capital at €5.60 (US$7.25) per share in its IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The €1.449bn (US$1.877bn) raised makes it the largest European IPO of 2012.
The pricing was at the lower end of the revised range of €5.50 to €6.00 per share. Initially, it was set at €5.25 to €6.50 per share.
Spanish parent Telefonica noted that the 258.75 million placed shares includes 33.75 million over-allotted shares connected to the greenshoe option granted to underwriters.
Telefonica Deutschland said that the offering was oversubscribed at the issue price by several times.
Trading of Munich-based Telefonica Deutschland shares on the regulated market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt exchange launched today and peaked at €5.80 per share during the late morning hours.
Rene Schuster, CEO of the German telco, said the company is very pleased with the strong demand for its shares, which he attributed to its solid strategic position and growth and attractive dividend.
About 99% of placed shares were allocated to institutional investors, while private investors in Germany were allotted the remainder.
JP Morgan and UBS Investment Bank were joint global coordinators and bookrunners for the IPO. Additional bookrunners are BofA Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Citigroup and HSBC. Co-lead managers are Banca IMI, BayernLB, BBVA, Commerzbank, Banco Santander and Societe Generale. Commerzbank also acted as retail coordinator.
Speaking at the Frankfurt exchange today, Schuster was quoted as saying “the whole sector” in Germany is talking to each other at the moment. However, he stressed that Telefonica Germany does not have any firm plans in that regard as yet, saying it will look into the matter further after the IPO and Christmas period.
Earlier reports speculated that the company is considering a network sharing agreement with Dutch telco KPN’s local unit E-Plus.
