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 The Melbourne-based owner of software used by 1.2 million businesses
said in a listing prospectus on Tuesday that it planned to sell up
to 277.2 million of a total of up to 633.4 million shares for
between A$3 and A$4, while its current controlling shareholder,
private equity firm Bain Capital, would keep the rest.
The sale would give the company a market capitalization of up to
A$2.3 billion, MYOB said, more than double the A$1.2 billion that
Bain paid when it bought it from Australian buyout group Archer
Capital in 2011. Archer took previously listed MYOB private in 2009.
The purpose of the sale is to pay down debt, let management
shareholders cash in their investments, broaden the company's
investor base and boost its profile, the prospectus said.
Bain had until recently considered a trade sale for its first
Australian exit and its decision to list MYOB confirms its faith in
Australian equities, which have risen 9 percent so far in 2015
despite sharp declines in the resources sector and a growing
national deficit.
Australia in 2014 had its biggest-ever year for new listings, with
$15 billion raised in IPOs, as company owners, including private
equity firms, focused on a buoyant share market for offloading
assets.
But IPO activity has been subdued so far in 2015, echoing investors'
caution as vendors wait to see if unfavorable macroeconomic factors
like slowing Chinese growth, sliding commodity prices and an
imminent U.S. rate hike hit the broader economy.
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While likely to be a marquee deal for Australia this year, the MYOB
listing will be far smaller than last year's biggest IPO, the A$5.7
billion sale of health insurer Medibank Private Ltd.
MYOB said Bain was keeping its 57 percent stake under escrow,
without giving further details.
Citigroup Global Markets Australia Pty Ltd, Goldman Sachs Australia
Pty Ltd [GS.UL], Merrill Lynch Equities (Australia) Ltd and UBS AG
were joint lead managers on the offer, while Australian firm Reunion
Capital was financial adviser.
They will conduct a bookbuild on April 29 before listing starts on
May 4.
($1 = 1.3116 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Miral Fahmy and Stephen Coates)
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