Saga starts trading on LSE

Greg Gille
@unquotenews
29 May 2014

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Shares in private equity-backed UK insurance group Saga have begun trading on the London Stock Exchange at a small premium, following a lacklustre IPO last week.

Shares were trading at 187 pence apiece at the time of writing, up by a modest 1% on the disappointing float price of 185 pence set at the end of last week.

Saga raised £550m in its IPO on 23 May, giving the company a market cap of £2.1bn. Saga sold 297.3 million shares at 185 pence apiece – the bottom of the initial indicative price range – resulting in a free float of 27% at admission.

Interest in the stock had been drummed up by Saga's emphasis on selling shares to its customers, but the listing was nevertheless seen as lacklustre, with share price remaining flat in conditional dealings.

Charterhouse acquired Saga in 2004, in a £1.35bn deal. CVC and Permira picked up AA that same year for £1.75bn. The businesses were merged in June 2007.

News of Saga's potential flotation emerged as early as October last year, although at the time reports suggested the company would reach a market cap of £3bn.