German insurer Talanx revives its on-off flotation proposals
GERMAN insurer Talanx has revived plans for a stock market flotation, returning with less ambitious expectations just a week after renouncing a move to list when potential investors baulked at the price it wanted for its shares.
The flotation of up to 29m new shares in a price range of between €17.30 (£13.83) and €20.30, planned for 2 October, will value Germany’s third-biggest insurer at between €4.4bn and €5bn, Talanx said yesterday.
Sources last night suggested that Berenberg, the German independent advisory bank, had been promoted significantly within the consortium after promising to come up with support from high net worth individuals for the issue.
Talanx had previously seen a valuation of €4.8bn at the extreme low end of the acceptable range, but interest it had received ahead of the cancellation last week was closer to €4.2bn, one source familiar with the situation said. Talanx said it planned to raise €500m through the float, down from €700m, with bookbuilding starting today.
The decision to make a second attempt at a listing will test Talanx’s ability to make a credible case with investors, after the insurer had publicly discussed a flotation for more than a decade, only to unveil a surprise cancellation of the plan last week.