Spie back on IPO trail, aims to raise €700m

Spie had launched – and subsequently abandoned – an IPO last year; the company announced plans to raise up to €921.5m in a flotation on the Euronext Paris in September 2014, but abandoned its listing plans the following month.

The flotation would have valued the business at around €2.75bn. In a statement released at the time, Spie stated it had postponed the IPO due to "volatile market conditions".

For this second attempt, Spie lowered its target slightly and set the initial price range at €14.50-17.50, compared with €15-18.30 in 2014. The company is, however, looking to raise €700m from the issuance of new shares, compared with a target of around €525m as part of its first IPO attempt last year.

In addition, existing shareholders will divest shares to the tune of €129m, based on the upper end of the price range, which could reach €348m if both the extension and over-allotment options are exercised in full. One of Spie's long-standing shareholders, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, has already subscribed for €100-150m worth of shares as part of the offering.

Pricing is expected to take place on 9 June, with trading due to commence on 10 June. JP Morgan and UBS are acting as global coordinators, joint lead managers and lead bookrunners. Barclays, BNP Paribas, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, HSBC and Societe Generale are joint lead managers and joint bookrunners. Crédit Agricole and Natixis are co-lead managers.

Proceeds due to refinance debt
The proceeds from the capital increase are expected to go towards de-leveraging the business. Spie had already refinanced its debt at the beginning of 2015, allowing it to pay off €430m from its shareholder loan as well as repay its €375m bond. The company received a new €625m senior credit facility at Euribor +4.25% as well as an additional €186m second lien facility at Euribor +7.75%.

Spie currently has €1.74bn outstanding under its senior credit facilities agreement, as well as €185.6m in bonds maturing in 2022. The IPO will partly repay these – the remainder will be repaid by drawing from a €1.52bn refinancing put in place in the run-up to the IPO.

Ardian and CD&R purchased Spie alongside Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec in May 2011. The three parties acquired the business from PAI Partners, which had owned it since 2006, for €2.1bn.

A €1.335bn senior term and revolving credit facility was arranged to finance the May 2011 deal. Part of this was a €375m bridge loan, which was refinanced when Spie placed a high-yield bond of the same value in early 2012.

Spie, headquartered in Cergy, is a provider of multi-technical services in electrical and mechanical engineering, as well as heating, ventilation and air-conditioning.

The company employs 38,000 staff across 550 locations in 35 countries. It generated €5.22bn in revenues in 2014, as well as an EBITA of €334m.

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• Topics
• Exits
• France
• IPO
• Ardian (formerly Axa PE)
• France