Worldpay, a payment processing company, is set to hire six banks to propel the company's £6 billion ($9.22 billion) stock market listing. The £6 billion ($9.22 billion) valuation could make it the largest initial public offering (IPO) in the UK this year.
In 2010, Worldpay was bought from Royal Bank of Scotland by Advent International and Bain Capital. Five years since the takeover, the company is now ready for a public listing.
Sky News reported that Worldpay is extremely close to hiring Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch as global coordinators for the share sale. It also reported that the company was set to hire Barclays, Credit Suisse and UBS as bookrunners on the deal.
Worldpay has also tapped investment bank Lazard as an adviser to prepare for a flotation, according to Reuters.
Financial Times reported that the owners of Worldpay are seeking to raise between £1bn and £1.5bn by selling shares, which will place the value of the company at about £6bn.
As consumers are shifting to online payment services, the payment-processing providers are hoping to cash in on the trend. The European regulators too have been trying to increase competition in the payments sector from non-banks.
After Worldpay was carved out of RBS, Philip Jansen, the former executive of Sodexo and MyTravel has steered the company's high growth level by leaps and bounds.
The company is actively looking out for a new chairman and board of directors after current Worldpay chairman John Allan's decision to step down from his role by this year .
No definitive words yet from Morgan Stanley and Worldpay, while Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, UBS and Credit Suisse could not be reached immediately for a comment.
Join the Conversation