Asian satcoms provider SpeedCast’s shares closed up 7.14% after a strong first day of trading on Australia’s ASX exchange.
The Hong Kong-based group raised A$150m (US$138.86m) from selling around 63.7% of its stock in the IPO, with the rest held by…
Asian satcoms provider SpeedCast’s shares closed up 7.14% after a strong first day of trading on Australia’s ASX exchange.
The Hong Kong-based group raised A$150m (US$138.86m) from selling around 63.7% of its stock in the IPO, with the rest held by its directors and private equity owner TA Associates.
The shares were priced at A$1.96 and ended the day at A$2.10, giving it a market capitalisation of A$252.35m (US$234m).
SpeedCast CEO Pierre-Jean Beylier described it as a major step in the company’s evolution, after rapidly expanding through a series of bolt-on acquisitions since coming under private equity control two years ago.
“This listing will enable us to continue executing on our growth plans and on our focus to deliver unsurpassed service reliability and customer support,” he said.
It has made five acquisitions since TA Associates took control in September 2012 for roughly US$32m, and its strategy so far has mainly focused on buying out teleport owners across Asia.
Speedcast was spun out of AsiaSat, the satellite operator based in Hong Kong. Its business centres mainly on the natural resources industry, particularly oil and gas.
UBS was its underwriter for the IPO, while Herbert Smith Freehills provided legal advice. Australia’s Gilbert + Tobin advised UBS.
