Travelport to get £2bn tag via flotation
TRAVEL service company Travelport will be worth up to $3.45bn (£2.17bn) when it lists on the London Stock Exchange, the firm said yesterday.
The group, whose travel distribution, travel intermediary and IT services include airline and hotel booking operation Galileo, announced a price range for its $1.78bn London listing valuing the company’s total equity at between $3.05bn and $3.45bn.
Investor response to the listing has been keenly watched to gauge the improvement in the market for flotations.
American private equity group Blackstone bought Travelport from US conglomerate Cedent in 2006 and currently owns 70 per cent.
Travelport is offering its shares at between 210p and 290p each, which will represent between 51 and 58 per cent of its enlarged share capital.
Book-building started on Monday and is scheduled to come to an end on 11 February.
UBS is the sole sponsor for the flotation, while Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Barclays Capital and Citigroup are joint book-runners.
The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) agreed to buy $225m worth of Travelport’s shares at a valuation of $3.13bn, giving it 7.19 per cent of Travelport when the offering is completed.
Travelport also owns travel reservation operation Worldspan, tour wholesaler Gullivers Travel Associates and other brands such as Travelcube, Octopus Travel and Travelbound.