The market has been excited after the announcement of a number of possible IPOs, after oilfield marine charter group Miclyn Express Offshore posted a prospectus and entertainment group Hoyts fuelled rumours of a float of its own.
The comments come after HGC, which owns and operates the Sexpo brand, said it is investigating the possibility of an IPO to bring its annual exhibitions overseas.
Miclyn, which is based in Singapore and partly owned by the Macquarie Group, which holds a 59% stake, lodged a prospectus yesterday to raise up to $365 million. Chief executive Diederik de Boer told the Australian Financial Review the move was made at the right time despite market volatility.
“From what I’ve seen today and yesterday in contact with potential investors, I don’t think it’s a particularly bad time at the moment,” he said.
The IPO has been given an indicative price range of between $1.85-$2.30 per share, equating to an earnings multiple of between 8.25-10.25. De Boer said the decision to list in Australia, and not closer to Singapore, is a strategic one.
“We have a strategy of growing our business in Australia, obviously driven by the enormous amount of work that was going to be on offer over here… We feel that in Australia there is a good understanding of the sector and there is good liquidity over here, much more so than there is in Singapore.”
Macquarie will hold a 30% stake in the company after the IPO, while holding company Ray Rider, which is run by entrepreneur Michael Kum, will reduce its stake from 39% to 10%.
Meanwhile, talk of a Hoyts float has been sparked after equity firm Pacific Equity Partners reportedly spoke with a number of investment banks, including Deutsche Bank, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and the Commonwealth Bank regarding a potential float.
It is understood the motivation for this comes after a good year for the company, which has seen box-office revenue jump 15% to over $1 billion. Hoyts forecasts EBITDA of $70 million for the current financial year.
But Hoyts executive chairman and minority shareholder David Kirk said any talk of an IPO is just a rumour.
“We’re undertaking a detailed examination of our options, but no decision has been made… there is no firm plan and certainly no timetable. No decision has been made on floating the company, conducting a trade sale or doing anything at this stage.”
A float would be the latest in a string of financial shake-ups for Hoyts, which has changed hands several times in its history. PEP purchased Hoyts from James Packer’s Publishing & Broadcasting firm and West Australian Newspapers in 2007 for about $300 million.
This came after Packer’s Consolidated Press Holdings purchased the company in 2005 for $520 million.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
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