UK ecommerce business The Hut Group has confirmed plans to list in London, targeting a £4.5 billion (€5 billion) valuation that would make it Britain's biggest initial public offering this year.
The company, which specialises in health and beauty products and provides technology for other brands to sell direct to consumers online, is aiming to raise about £920 million.
The Qatar Investment Authority, and asset managers Janus Henderson, BlackRock and Merian Global Investors have agreed to buy a total of £565 million of the shares. BlackRock has committed to £300 million, Janus Henderson to £100 million, Merian to £90 million and QIA £75 million.
Citigroup, JPMorgan, Barclays Bank and Goldman Sachs will act as co-ordinators on the deal. HSBC, Jefferies and Numis Securities will be bookrunners.
The listing will be structured to preserve the control of Matthew Moulding, who founded the business in 2004, giving him a "founder share" that allows him to ward off hostile takeovers.
His stake in the company will also rise from 20 per cent to 25.1 per cent.
The price of this structure is that The Hut Group will have a “standard” rather than “premium” FTSE listing, meaning it will not be eligible for inclusion in FTSE indices and its shares cannot be bought by tracker funds. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2020
