Yahoo Finance Smart meter group Calisen hits £1.3bn valuation in first post-Brexit IPO
Shares in UK smart meter company Calisen (CLSN.L) climbed by as much as 4% on Friday, their first day of trading on the London Stock Exchange.
Calisen reached a £1.32bn ($1.71bn) valuation by floating around 25% of the company, becoming the first UK firm to list on the stock exchange since June’s Trainline (TRN.L) initial public offering (IPO).
The Manchester-based smart meter company, which is backed by US private equity giant KKR, raised close to £329m as part of the move, issuing shares at 240p, within its expected price range.
KKR acquired its stake in Calisen, whose Calvin Capital unit leases smart meters to utility companies, in 2016.
The UK government is pushing energy suppliers to install smart meters in homes in England, Wales and Scotland, hoping that doing so will help consumers better keep track of their energy usage.
Calisen also operates a recently acquired division called Lowri Beck, which offers meter reading and maintenance services to energy retailers.
The company owns around 4.7 million smart meters and 3.5 million ‘traditional’ energy meters, and recoups the upfront costs of the meters by securing long-term rental agreements with suppliers.
KKR hired Credit Suisse, Citigroup, HSBC and several other banks to advise on the IPO.
The listing will be seen as a boost to London’s IPO market, which has been dented by Brexit-related uncertainty and unease.
While London is still the dominant force in European equity finance, it is trailing New York when it comes to trading volumes and overall number of listings.
Just 36 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE.L) in 2019, according to official data from the company, a 60% slump compared to 2018.
It was the lowest number of IPOs in London since the depths of the financial crisis in 2009.
The UK’s slowdown far outpaced the global average. Stock market listings declined by 19% globally last year, according to data from EY.
