Warburg to reap 4.5x in Poundland IPO

Ellie Pullen
12 March 2014

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Warburg Pincus is set to reap a 4.5x money multiple and an IRR of more than 50% in the flotation of portfolio company Poundland, which has been valued at ТЃ750m after setting its price range for its admission to the London Stock Exchange.

The 125 million shares in Poundland being sold have been priced at £3 apiece, meaning proceeds from the offering will total £375m.

This amount could increase to £431m if the overallotment option of up to 18.75 million existing shares – representing up to 15% of the shares comprising the offering – is exercised in full.

Warburg is set to reap a 4.5x money multiple on the sale of shares, as well as an IRR of more than 50%, according to industry sources. Following the flotation, Warburg will hold a stake in Poundland of 30.4-37.9%, depending on whether the overallotment offer is exercised.

Warburg acquired Poundland in April 2010 from Advent International, in a deal thought to be worth around £200m. Lloyds provided a debt package for the acquisition.

Advent had purchased Poundland alongside GE Capital in June 2002. According to unquote" data, the deal was worth £112m with the amount split equally between equity and debt provided by Bank of Scotland.

Poundland announced its intention to float last month. Conditional dealing began on the LSE this morning under the ticker symbol "PLND". Admission to the main market is expected to take place on 18 March.

Credit Suisse Securities and JP Morgan Securities have been appointed joint global coordinators, bookrunners and sponsors. Canaccord Genuity and Shore Capital Stockbrokers are acting as co-lead managers, while Rothschild is financial adviser to Poundland.

Company
Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Willenhall in the West Midlands, Poundland is a retailer of single-price general merchandise, with everything for sale for £1.

The company now operates more than 500 stores. Under Warburg's ownership Poundland has opened a further 250 stores and entered the Irish market with the launch of its Dealz stores, which sell the majority of products at €1.49.

Poundland generated revenues of £880.5m for the year ending March 2013. Underlying EBITDA for the period sat at £45.5m with a margin of 5.2%.

People
Jim McCarthy is Poundland's CEO. Warburg managing directors Steve Coates and Paul Best both sit on the company's board of directors.