Plus500 targets $1 billion valuation

Plus500 CEO Gal Haber hits the $500 million milestone, as Plus500 continues focus on the UK market.

Had we mentioned to any of our readers six months ago that CFD broker Plus500 was really worth $1 billion, we likely would have been laughed at.

Well, it doesn’t seem like a joke any more.

With its share price now at £2.74 per share — up more than 140% from its July IPO price — Plus500 is now valued at more than $500 million. And in an interview with Israeli business newspaper Globes, Plus500 CEO Gal Haber stated “the next target is a company value of $1 billion.”

And it is hard to doubt Haber, who has been able to deliver results such as an IPO, something which many other retail forex brokers have wanted to do but just haven’t done.

Haber also stated that Plus500’s focus remains on the “British market, which is its main market…. it is almost certain that the company is taking market share from its competitors.”

Valuation-wise, Haber believes that despite its rapid share price rise, “the multiple at which Plus500 is traded is still low compared with its peers.” Globes reports that Plus500 is traded at a P/E ratio of 14 on its 2013 results, below that of its larger, but slower growing rivals such as IG Group and FXCM, which are traded at P/E ratios of between 14 and 18. So apparently there is still room to grow.

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