Six Nations part-owner CVC valued at €14bn after shares sale
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Shares of private equity group CVC Capital Partners gained as much as 25% on their first day of trading in Amsterdam in what shapes up to be one of Europe's largest initial public offerings this year.
CVC — which is best known in Ireland for the minority stakes in the firm that owns the Six Nations rugby tournament and the English premiership — is now valued at around €14bn.
Three years ago, the Six Nations firm, which is controlled by the rugby unions, said it had sold a 14% stake in the tournament and the autumn international rugby series for €423m. CVC also has investments in a number of continental European soccer leagues.
CVC said it would raise up to €2.3bn from Friday's shares sale, depending on whether over-allotment options were exercised. CVC said the offer was oversubscribed multiple times and had been increased to accommodate strong demand from institutional investors globally.
"We are very pleased to have received great support for our IPO from both our new and existing shareholders," chief executive Rob Lucas said in a statement.
"This is testament to the huge amount of hard work that has gone into building CVC over the last 40 years," Mr Lucas said.
Investor demand came from mutual funds, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds and big insurer pension funds split across Europe, the US and the Middle East.
The IPO is set to earn millions for some of the company's founders, while also helping Europe's largest buyout fund to grow its assets beyond its €186bn under management. CVC had been considering an IPO for some time but abandoned a previous attempt due to volatile market conditions.
Europe has seen a string of companies go public recently, taking advantage of higher stock prices and improving investor sentiment.
However, new issue performance has been mixed. Last month, shares in skin care company Galderma soared on its market debut, while CVC-backed cosmetics retailer Douglas did less well trading below its issue price.
CVC founders Donald Mackenzie and Steve Koltes stand to reap substantial rewards from the IPO. Based on the issue price and without exercising the over allotment option, Mackenzie is due to cash in around €121.7m through the sale of existing shares. Mr Koltes could raise around €27.7m.
CVC is the latest European buy-out group to go public, following in the footsteps of Bridgepoint.