Skrill to test IPO market
ONLINE payments group Skrill will this week test market appetite for initial public offerings (IPOs), following a tumultuous period for company listings.
Management at the firm, which operates as Moneybookers and has been cast as a European rival to PayPal, is in the final stages of drumming up interest in the listing.
Sources close to the process said orders for stock were still coming in, ahead of a float by Thursday.
Despite tough market conditions, the price range on the deal has not been tightened to the lower end of expectations, one source added.
Skrill plans to list for between 235p and 335p per share in order to raise up to £184m.
But doubt was cast over the strength of the IPO market last week, after the plans of British vacuum technology group Edwards was left in tatters.
Volatility driven by unrest in the Middle East and the Japanese quake and tsunami has hit investor confidence, while firms are also said to be at the mercy of investors who refuse to meet management’s price demands.