Shares of Infinis Energy for its much-anticipated initial public offering had been priced at the lower end of its price range. The company run by private equity veteran Guy Hands. The pricing of the shares of the energy company came in amid speculation that investor appetite started to wane after a flurry of IPOs were seen on the stock market.
Infinis is one of the leading generators of renewable power in the UK. According to the company website, Infinis has a growing portfolio of onshore wind, hydro and landfill gas plants all over the UK. Infinis operates 147 power plants in total.
According to UK newspaper The Guardian, Infinis has priced its IPO at 260 pence apiece. This was the low end of the price range it had previously released at 260 pence to 310 pence per share. On the first hour after 9AM trading London time, Infinis' shares remained steady at 260 pence per share.
Hands via its Terra Firma outfit nabbed GBP234 million by selling a portion of its ownership stake, which had put Infinis' market capitalization at GBP780 million. Hands' current ownership stake in the energy company is at 69%.
In the recent months, the London bourse had been flood with IPOs as investors do away with grudges on experiences with overpriced flotations in the past to gain returns of their equities and capitalize on growth prospects. Royal Mail's flotation had also set a chain of successive public listing plans including furniture chain DFS and property website Zoopla.
However, investors appeared to have lost interest in IPOs when life insurance companies Just Retirement and Partnership Assurance saw its shares dive on the stock market. Just Retirement opened at 225 pence per share, which was the middle price of its flotation price range, but fell at the close of Day one trading. Partnership Assurance projected weaker sales, prompting its shares down at below its IPO price in June.
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