Carrier billing startup to float on Aim to raise £45m

Boku, a company that enables mobile phone billing for goods bought online, is floating on the London Stock Exchange today.

The firm has embarked on an IPO to raise £45m, and will have a market capitalisation of £125m when it floats on Alternative Investment Market (Aim).

The company allows mobile phone users to buy goods and services online and then adds the charges to their mobile phone bill. The platform connects its customers, such as Apple, Google and Facebook, with the billing and sales systems of the mobile network operators.

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Boku said that no other payment method is able to reach more people; according to the World Bank, there are 98 mobile subscriptions per 100 people on the globe, wheras only 62 per cent of adults have a bank account.

Jon Prideaux, chief executive of Boku, said: “The Aim admission today is a significant milestone for Boku and strongly positions the company to accelerate its growth plans. We are delighted with the backing shown by a wide number of quality institutional investors and thank them for their support.

“Boku is very well positioned in the direct carrier billing market and there are significant opportunities for growth which we intend to capitalise on. We very much look forward to life as a public company and to updating the market on our continued progress in the months and years ahead.”