DFS IPO: Shares priced towards bottom of range
There are plenty of gags about the DFS sale (Q: what are the three things that would survive a nuclear war? A: Cockroaches, termites, the DFS sale), but it looks like that's extending into its IPO. The furniture retailer priced its shares at a bargain 255p today ahead of its IPO. That's towards the bottom end of its range of 245p-310p.
The deal will value the retailer at £543m, lower than the £585m it had originally hoped.
At that price, the IPO is expected to raise £98m through the free float of 38 per cent of its shares. That's slightly lower than the £105m it had mooted at the beginning of February. Unconditional trading will begin on Wednesday.
DFS is the UK's largest furniture chain by sales, with 105 stores in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. It was bought by private equity firm Advent International in 2010 for an estimated £500m.
Today Ian Filby, the company's chief executive, said the retailer would continue to "broaden its appeal" through a "measures programme of store expansion… we look forward to further building our excellent track record of sales, market share growth and cash generation".