Europe's biggest asset manager, Amundi, said on Wednesday that it would have a market value of about 7.5 billion euros ($8 billion) following what will be the biggest French IPO since the financial crisis of 2008. Amundi set the IPO offer price at 45 euros a share, the top end of its tightened range. Shareholder Societe Generale is selling its 20 percent stake for 1.5 billion euros, Amundi said.
Credit Agricole, which owns the other 80 percent of Amundi, will sell a maximum of 225 million euros of shares if a 3 percent over-allotment option is fully exercised, taking the total offering to 1.73 billion. "The main objective of Amundi's (IPO is) to increase the group's visibility and reputation, access a new source of financing, and increase its strategic and financial flexibility in order to support its development in France and in international markets," Amundi said in a statement.
Amundi's stock market listing on Euronext Paris comes as other financial institutions also test investor appetite. The Dutch government is returning ABN Amro to investors' hands in Europe's largest bank IPO since the financial crisis, valuing it at 15-18.8 billion euros. Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered plan rights issues. In France, both smartcard maker Oberthur Technologies and music streaming service Deezer recently postponed their IPOs, citing market conditions. Online fashion retailer Showroomprive.com went ahead after setting the price at the bottom of the range.
Amundi, with almost a $1 trillion of assets under management, has promised to pay out at least 60 percent of net profit in dividends and control costs in a low-interest rate world. With nearly 30 percent market share in France, it wants to further boost assets in Europe and Asia. Societe Generale said the sale of its stake would boost its common equity Tier 1 ratio by 24 basis points by the end of 2015. Credit Agricole is also selling 2 percent of Amundi's share capital to Agricultural Bank of China to expand their cooperation, leaving it with a maximum of 78 percent and minimum of 75 percent of Amundi.
Amundi shares will start trading on a listing line called "Amundi AIW" on November 12. Trading under the "Amundi" listing line will start on November 16, the company said. Amundi had narrowed the IPO offer price range to 43-45 euros from 42-52.50 euros initially. Credit Agricole, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale are acting as joint global coordinators, joint lead managers and joint bookrunners for the IPO. Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch and UBS are acting as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners. ABN Amro, Banca IMI, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, Banco Santander, Nomura and UniCredit are acting as co-lead managers.