Zegona Communications IPO: Peppa Pig backer Marwyn puts aside £12m for new Aim entry
Investment fund Marwyn will be the chief investor in Zegona Communications once the company lists on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim), it was revealed yesterday.
The fund, which is also a backer of Peppa Pig, will be investing up to £12m in the new company which was set up earlier this month by former executives of Virgin Media, Eamonn O’Hare and Robert Samuelson.
The aim of Zegona Communications is to act as an investment vehicle to target telecoms companies across Europe. The company says it will be seeking to amass a portfolio of assets with enterprise values totalling £1bn-£3bn and seeking to provide investors with attractive returns through a so-called buy-fix-sell strategy.
The £12m investment will account for just under half of the money being sought from the float, with trading expected to commence on 19 March.
Zegona said it is placing a total of up to £30m new ordinary shares to provide due diligence and operating capital prior to a subsequent acquisition.
Robert Ware, chairman of Marwyn Value Investors, commented: “As cornerstone investors in Zegona, we are delighted to be backing Eamonn and Robert, who have an exceptional track record of delivering shareholder value through their work at Virgin Media.
“We very much look forward to supporting them as they execute their strategy in a sector with significant investment potential.
“This investment is consistent with Marwyn’s strategy of re-deploying capital from successful investment realisations in support of high quality management teams, and follows Marwyn’s backing of Avril Palmer-Baunack with the launch of Haversham Holdings last November.”
Mark Brangstrup Watts, a managing partner at Marwyn, will serve as a non-executive director of Zegona.