CBL successfully concludes IPO bookbuild

CBL successfully concludes IPO bookbuild. Offer price set at $1.55

CBL Corporation (“CBL”) is pleased to advise that its bookbuild to institutional investors and NZX firms has been successfully completed with a final Offer price of $1.55. The final Offer price is within the indicative price range of $1.45 - $1.85.

The final Offer price means that NZ$125m will be raised, of which NZ$90m will be used to fund growth opportunities for the group including the recently announced acquisition of the Australian insurer Assetinsure. CBL writes business in 25 countries on four continents. It is forecasting gross written premium revenue of NZ$335m this year.

CBL Chairman Sir John Wells said: “We are excited by the opportunities that this listing brings us. Broadening our investor base and increasing our profile through listing on the NZX and ASX was a key goal for us. We now look forward to welcoming all new shareholders onto our register. CBL has a track record of successfully growing its business by focusing on profitable, non-traditional insurance lines in specific markets. This is a trend we are certainly looking to continue.”

CBL’s Managing Director Peter Harris said: “Becoming a publically listed company has been a key milestone for us. We are delighted with the depth, spread and quality of the investors we attracted. They are looking beyond the current market volatility and investing in a proven business with solid fundamentals and significant growth opportunities. We are particularly pleased to have gained such strong support from our employees and key business associates around the world. Having the priority pool significantly oversubscribed is a ringing endorsement as to how we do business.”

Mr Harris also noted that CBL was the first company to list under the new FMCA regulations. "It has been a very rigorous and robust process, and we are very grateful to our professional advisers who helped guide us through this process."

CBL’s final Offer price implies a market capitalisation of NZ$340.5m, reflecting a FY2016F P/E multiple of 8.4x and prospective gross dividend yield of 4.9% for the forecast 12 month period to December 2016.

The Broker Firm Offer opens on 21 September 2015 and closes on the 6 October 2015. Listing will be on 13 October 2015.

ENDS

© Scoop Media