Network International's headquarters in Dubai. Image courtesy of Network International
Network International's headquarters in Dubai. Image courtesy of Network International
Network International's headquarters in Dubai. Image courtesy of Network International
Network International's headquarters in Dubai. Image courtesy of Network International

Markets

Network International IPO price range values firm at $3bn

Mastercard subsidiary to make $300m cornerstone investment in payments firm as part of the listing

Sarah Townsend

April 01, 2019

  • English
  • Arabic

Network international, one of the biggest payments processing companies in the Middle East and Africa, has set the price range for its initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange, valuing the company as much as $3 billion (Dh11.02bn).

The IPO offering range is set at 395 pence to 465 pence per share, implying a market value on admission to the exchange of between £1.98bn (Dh9.51bn) and £2.33bn, Network International said in a statement on Monday.

The expected institutional offer size comprises at least 125,000,000 shares, equating to a free float of at least 25 per cent of the company’s shares at the time of admission.

The sale will comprise the secondary offering of shares by Dubai’s biggest lender Emirates NBD, which holds 51 per cent in the company, and by Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic, which jointly own a 49 per cent stake in Network International.

Under the deal, shareholders granted Citigroup, one of the companies overseeing the listing, an option to purchase up to a maximum of 15 per cent of the total number of institutional offer shares.

The offer also comprises shares to be acquired by credit card issuer Mastercard, which agreed last month to invest $300 million through its wholly owned subsidiary Mastercard Asia-Pacific as part of the listing.

The cornerstone investment by the global payments company will be based on the same terms as other institutional investors participating in the IPO, subject to a 9.99 per cent ownership limitation, 24 months lock-up period and 36 months standstill period, during which they cannot acquire additional shares without Network International's consent.

Read More

Mastercard to invest $300m in Network International's planned IPO

Network International receives strong investor interest for planned London IPO

The Mastercard investment is subject to conditions including an institutional free float of at least 25 per cent.

Network International’s listing comes amid a slow European IPO market, with investor appetite dented by concerns over Brexit and slower economic growth in Germany and France. European IPO volumes at the start of 2019 were at their lowest level since the financial crisis, according to data from Bloomberg.

At the same time, Middle East companies are increasingly looking to list shares on the LSE amid slow trading in local equities markets. The London bourse is home to Abu Dhabi’s NMC Health and Gulf Marine Services, among others.

The full details of Network International’s IPO will be included in the prospectus. The company expects to be eligible for inclusion in FTSE UK indices, following admission to LSE.

There will be a 180-day lock-up period for shareholders.

Citigroup, Emirates NBD Capital, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Liberum Capital and Evercore Partners law firm are working on the listing.

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

More on women's right
How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
  • Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
  • Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
  • Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
  • Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
  • Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
While you're here
What is tokenisation?

Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets. 

AfricaLondonMarketsFrance