FDM is valued at £300m
FDM, an IT support services group, yesterday completed a flotation that valued the company at a touch over £300m.
The deal, which was advised on solely by Investec, sees the private equity group Inflexion selling its entire shareholding to raise £234.7m.
Rowena Murray, who was part of the Investec team on the deal, said the institutions were more than happy that the private equity group had exited completely as part of the transaction.
In most of the new issues this year, private equity groups have held on to a significant shareholding.
Investec, which has earned a fee of more than £5m from the deal, worked to a short timetable, did not offer a price range and went straight to the institutions. “We used all our time, effort and energy in getting the issue to the people who count,” said Murray.
Inflexion said it had made 16 times its money by re-listing the group after owning it for four years.
Founded in 1991, FDM has become one of the UK’s largest employers of IT graduates. Those who become consultants are referred to by the group as Mounties.
The group made a profit of £14.7m in 2013 on revenues of £105.6m.
“A public listing will help accelerate this next phase of our development, providing additional funding and raising the profile of FDM with clients and potential employees,” said chief executive Rod Flavell.
Following the offer, directors and senior management will own approximately 20.4 per cent of the stock. The free float will account for nearly 80 per cent of the group’s equity.
BEHIND THE DEAL
INVESTEC | ROWENA MURRAY
1 A lawyer from Australia, Rowena Murray joined Investec in 2004. She is married to Andrew Pinder, also on the team.
2 Murray has been working with Terry Smith’s Fundsmith, raising money for a new fund, as well as with Microgen, which yesterday said it would not proceed with a takeover proposal.
3 Murray says she met Pinder before he became head of investment banking and her ultimate boss. “That wasn’t quite what we expected,” she said. She has one son and a step-son.
Also advising…
… is Garry Levin, who is one of the corporate financiers that came over to Investec following the merger with Evolution. Levin played a big role in securing the deal, thanks to his strong relationship with Inflexion, the private equity backer of FDM.