Brit Insurance eyes £1bn IPO – reports

Lloyd’s insurer Brit has indicated a price range for its forthcoming initial public offering (IPO) that could value the group at more than £1bn, according to The Times.

The price range of 230p to 275p per share could give Brit a market valuation of £1.1bn and allow it to raise £275m from its stock market listing.

Brit announced its “intention to float” with the London Stock Exchange earlier this month.

The IPO will mark a return to the stock exchange for Brit, which was delisted when it was acquired by private equity firms Apollo and CVC in 2011.

Under the IPO plan, Apollo and CVC will remain the largest shareholders of Brit and a minimum of 25% of the company will be listed on the stock exchange.

There will also be a 10% over-allotment option which, if exercised, would mean 35% of Brit would be floated.

A formal announcement on the price range is not expected until after Brit publishes its IPO prospectus.

The reported price range gives Brit a higher potential market value than the £850m to £1bn estimates previously provided by a range of market sources, according to The Times.

A market capitalisation of £1.1bn would give the company a price-to-book multiple of 1.7x, surpassing the expected multiple of 1.3x to 1.4x book.