Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Marex Group Plc and a group of the London-based firm’s shareholders raised about $292 million in a US initial public offering priced within a marketed range.
The financial services platform and some of its shareholders sold about 15.4 million shares Wednesday for $19 each after marketing them for $18 to $21, according to a statement confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News.
Also, ION Investment Corp. had indicated an interest in purchasing as much as $50 million worth of shares at the IPO price, according to Marex Group’s filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
At the IPO price, Marex Group has a market value of about $1.3 billion, based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings. Accounting for shares reserved for purposes including employee incentive plans, the company would have a fully diluted value of more than $1.5 billion.
Marex Group, best known for its commodities business, is one of the largest dealers on the London Metal Exchange. The company said in December it had filed confidentially to go public in New York, after pulling plans for a £115 million ($143 million) London IPO in 2021 due to insufficient demand.
The selling shareholders include Amphitryon Ltd., a firm affiliated with BXR Group and JRJ Group that is offering 8.3 million shares in the IPO, and Ocean Ring Jersey Co., an affiliate of Trilantic Capital Partners which is offering 3.2 million shares. After the offering, Amphitryon will hold 45.9% of the shares, while Ocean Ring will have 17.7% of the shares, assuming the underwriters don’t exercise their over-allotment option.
The selling shareholders have granted the underwriters an option for an over-allotment of as much as 2.3 million additional shares, the statement shows.
Marex Group had an after-tax profit of $141 million on revenue of $1.24 billion last year, compared with $98 million on revenue of $711 million in 2022, according to its filings.
The offering is being led by Barclays Plc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. The company plans to begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the symbol MRX.
(By Amy Or)
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