Bakkavor causes confusion by announcing IPO pricing a week after cancelling float

Bakkavor has caused confusion this morning after announcing the pricing details for an IPO which it said last week would no longer go ahead.

The group, which makes prepared foods for supermarkets, said last Friday that it had not received sufficient institutional demand for its proposed offering and that it would not be in the best interest of the company to go ahead “given the current volatility in the IPO market”. It came on the same day that Arqiva scrapped a £6bn float amid similar concerns over market uncertainty.

But today Bakkavor announced it would offer almost 145m shares at a price of 180p each. If the float goes ahead, this will give the company a value of over £1bn.

This is a reduction from earlier plans which could have seen the business gain a value of as much as £2bn. The company set an early November date for its IPO plans last month.

HSBC and Morgan Stanley are to act as joint global co-ordinators while Barclays Citigroup and Peel Hunt are listed as additional bookrunners.

Read more: Financial watchdog publishes IPO reforms widening access to research