The stratospheric sums which are being applied to IPOs within the deliverable FX sector are most certainly going in one direction – upwards
Deliverable FX retailer Travelex has joined the ranks of many retail-orientated firms which provide direct deliverable service to an international client base, in setting its sights on a $1 billion initial public offering (IPO) in London.
According to a report by Business Week, the IPO is an option which is being taken into consideration by the company, with its owner, private equity company Apax, having bought a majority stake in the British company which set the value of the business at £1.1 billion, which equates to approximately $1.8 billion.
At the time of Apax’s acquisition of a major stake holding, Travelex founder and Chairman Lloyd Dorfman retained a 30% interest in the firm, with 3i Group holding 7%, which it has subsequently relinquished.
In addition to Travelex’s plan to become a publicly listed company, a great deal of interest has been shown by online firms such as gaming industry introducing broker XLMedia and payment processing solutions company SafeCharge, with London being the destination of choice in which to float company stock.
Last year, Australian deliverable FX firm OzForex raised many an eyebrow among financial sector industry leaders by raising $416 million via its IPO, representing the largest IPO in Australia throughout 2013 and causing the company’s share price to accelerate by 30% on the Australian Securities Exchange before mid-October last year.
Such a surge in corporate valuation attracted the attention of retail FX executives, with Pepperstone CEO Owen Kerr having explained to Financial Review that he and his business partner Joe Davenport were investigating the viability of the ASX as a possible venue to list their global online Âcurrency-trading broker business, in a move that could net the two 29-year-old Melbourne-based entrepreneurs about $600 million between them.
For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.