The success was confirmed for the stock market listing of the French Games (FDJ), with the announcement Wednesday by the company to release a package of additional securities kept in reserve to meet the strong demand.
The highest IPO in France since 2006
"The over-allotment option has been fully exercised.The total size of the offer is therefore raised to about 1.826 billion euros", or about half of the capital of the FDJ, welcomed the company in a statement . This amount makes it the largest IPO in France since Natixis in 2006 (4.2 billion euros). But in total, the state will pocket 2.1 billion euros as expected by counting the "cash", the sum that will pay the FdJ in exchange for the monopoly to operate for 25 years lottery games and sports betting in its physical network .
The over-allotment option, which was expected to be triggered by strong demand at the time of the IPO on 21 November, allowed the State to put on the market 11.35 million additional shares, for an amount of 225 , 87 million euros. The government had spared no effort (discount, free share for ten securities held for 18 months) to encourage small investors to take advantage of the subscription, opened on November 7, to enter the capital of the second European lottery.
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The FDJ had on its side boasted to investors "a sustainable investment", because of a "sustainable growth" disconnected from the economic situation. According to the Minister of the Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire, only 10% of the request could be served for those who asked for actions for more than 2,000 euros. The enthusiasm for the FDJ among savers, however, remains well below the success of IPOs prior to the financial crisis: Natixis in 2006 had attracted 2.8 million individuals, EDF in 2005 had set a record of about 5 million of individuals.
A rising action
The company will also have to establish long-term success in the markets. On Wednesday, the FDJ share closed up to 21.9 euros, a 10% higher price than the price set for its introduction. This values the group as a whole at 4.2 billion euros. Once completed, the allocation of securities reserved for employees, the state will only have 21.91% of the share capital.