Having made a strong return to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASE), Spotless is now very focused on securing on what is suggested is a $1.5 billion ‘pipeline’ of work being tendered.
The $1.9 billion facility and catering services provider’s shares finished 7 percent higher as it returned to the ASE yesterday (Friday 23 May) in what is said to have been the country’s largest float for almost four years.
According to a report in The Australian’s business pages (24 May), Spotless CEO Bruce Dixon said, “We’re very pleased with the support we’ve received from investors and the quality of the new names on share register.”
Spotless shares were priced at $1.60 during the ‘bookbuild’, ‘which was at the bottom of the $1.60 to $1.85 per share range and they closed on their debut day at $1.715’, noted The Australian.
Dixon is aiming on capitalising on the ongoing outsourcing of cleaning and catering contracts by resource companies and government departments..
Spotless has almost $2.6 billion in annual turnover, with defence force contracts and provision of services for mining towns major contributors.
Equity investor Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) doubled earnings after it delisted the business from the public market through a $1.3 billion takeover in 2012.
‘Local investors had been sceptical about growth prospects of the $2.5 billion turnover company, with earnings forecast to grow at double the rate of its sales forecasts in the next year,’ stated The Australian.
‘But sources close to the private equity firm had said this week that the initial public offering drew enough support from local investors to cover the raising without international investor participation.’