The first major German IPO of the year disappointed the capital market: the web service provider Ionos brings in less for the owners than they had hoped for.
The majority shareholder United Internet and the financial investor Warburg Pincus, which has a stake of almost a quarter, announced on Friday that the price range for the issue of the shares would be between EUR 18.50 and EUR 22.50 per share certificate.
This results in a maximum market capitalization for the company of EUR 3.15 billion - compared to up to EUR 5 billion that had been promised until recently.
Klaus Max Smolka
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Daniel Mohr
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As reported by the FAZ, those involved had recently calculated more cautiously, with issue proceeds in the range of 600 to 800 million euros based on a share of 15 to 20 percent, which should be placed on the stock exchange, which is a maximum total valuation of 4 billion euros would have meant.
As also previously reported, the IPO is scheduled to take place in the first full week of February, namely on February 8th.
According to the information from Friday, it is planned that the free float of Ionos will be 17.3 percent after the IPO - if all the securities offered, including the over-allotment option, are sold.
This results in an issue volume of up to 543 million euros.
The Internet group United Internet aims to offer almost 19 million Ionos shares, Warburg Pincus 5.2 million titles.
Global coordinators of the IPO are Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Berenberg and BNP Paribas.
Ionos provides websites for small and medium-sized companies, generates 90 percent of sales and almost all earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) in this segment.
The company presents itself as the European market leader in this field, major American competitors are Godaddy and Squarespace.
A small division is dedicated to the cloud, which has not yet contributed any significant profit or at least reinvested it immediately.
Ionos had forecast sales growth of 15 to 18 percent for 2022.
In 2021, revenues were 1.1 billion euros.
2022 was a lost year
The IPO breathes new life into the new issue business in Germany after 2022 was a lost year except for the – albeit very large – Porsche IPO.
The Ukraine war, skyrocketing inflation rates and the associated rise in interest rates, as well as uncertain economic prospects are weighing on the market.
On the one hand, IPO experts report a well-filled "pipeline", i.e. the stock of planned IPOs - also because of a backlog: Among other things, investment companies had prepared a whole series of companies for the stock exchange in 2022, but postponed their plans.
On the other hand, due to the continued economic and political uncertainty, the focus is on the second half of the year.
“We will not experience an IPO boom in the first half of 2023 either,” Nadja Picard of the consulting firm PWC had predicted at the end of the year.
David Rath, capital markets lawyer at the law firm Latham & Watkins, spoke of the prospect of "possible individual IPOs before the summer break".