Dealmakers predict end-of-season deal flourish in Q4
London’s goal of becoming a hub for tech companies to list took a further step in October, after payment processing company Worldpay floated on the London Stock Exchange in the largest City listing so far this year.
Allen & Overy (A&O), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Weil, Gotshal & Manges all scored roles as City-headquartered Worldpay sold 51% of its outstanding shares, raising £2.16bn with Worldpay receiving about £947.8m.
The sale valued the company at £4.8bn, based on the offer price at 240p per share, with private equity owners Bain Capital and Advent International retaining 49% of company stock. Worldpay was sold by The Royal Bank of Scotland to Advent and Bain in 2010, after the bank was forced to dispose of parts of its business under an EU-mandated asset sale following its state bailout in 2008.
A&O advised Worldpay with a team led by corporate partner Duncan Bellamy alongside corporate partner David Broadley and US securities partner Jeff Hendrickson. Freshfields advised underwriter Goldman Sachs, with capital markets partner Mark Austin leading, while Weil Gotshal represented Advent and Bain, led by London partners Marco Compagnoni and Peter King.
The Worldpay initial public offering (IPO) appears to have sparked an increase in corporate listings as many partners anticipate a busy final quarter to the year. Broadley said: ‘We have seen a number of private equity-led deals going through successfully; this is a real positive as it reinforces that an IPO can be a successful exit mechanism rather than a secondary sale.’
Freshfields’ Austin added: ‘The [Worldpay] IPO shows that London can attract the best fintech companies to list here rather than in New York. The government has been and continues to be a strong supporter of London being a hub for tech companies to list and the hope and expectation is that the combined political and regulatory support that we have here will attract more tech companies to make London their choice of listing venue.’
King at Weil Gotshal agreed. ‘Most fintech is international in nature so you need an international market that understands it, so the obvious places are London and New York. I think the factors that make a company pick London or New York depend on where the company is based and where the executives feel the most value can be obtained.’
jaishree.kalia@legalease.co.uk
For more on London’s booming fintech market, see ‘The finance view’.