EQT's Suse sets share price for €5bn IPO

The company announced its intention to float on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in April 2021, as reported.

The total offer size, assuming the exercise of the greenshow option in full, will comprise €1.1bn worth of shares, giving the company a market capitalisation of €5bn. The free float is expected to amount to 24.3%.

Capital Research Global Investors and GIC Private Limited have agreed to purchase offer shares with an aggregate value of €340m at the offer price, the company said in a statement.

The first day of trading is expected to take place on 19 May 2021.
Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Securities are acting as joint global coordinators and bookrunners, while Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Jefferies and Deutsche Bank are joint bookrunners.

EQT acquired Suse from UK-based Micro Focus in July 2018, investing via its €10.75bn EQT VIII fund. The company was valued at $2.535bn at the time.

Suse is expected to be the fourth PE-backed IPO of 2021 in the DACH region, according to Unquote Data, following the flotations of Paragon's Apontis Pharma and Cinven-backed Synlab earlier in May.

Although Hg's MeinAuto announced earlier in the month that it was to postpone its IPO, as reported, Finatem-backed HGears is expected to list in Frankfurt on 20 May 2021.

Company
Open-source enterprise software Suse was established in 1992 and is headquartered in Fürth. Prior to EQT's investment, the company had previously received investment from Apax Partners and LGT Capital Partners, according to Unquote Data.

Suse reported adjusted EBITDA of $98.9m for the year ending in April 2017 and $54.4m for the six months to 31 October 2017. In the year to 31 October 2020, the company posted adjusted revenues of $503m, an increase of 17.6% versus the same period in 2019.

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