IONOS shares slip below IPO price at start of trading (updated)

United Internet AG

08/02/2023 09:13

(Updates share price)
    By Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro
       LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Shares in German web hosting
company IONOS  IOSn.DE  dipped below the price of its initial
public offering (IPO) on Wednesday after Europe's first major
stock market debut since Porsche  P911_p.DE  in September.
    Shares started trading at 18.40 euros apiece and were
changing hands at around 18.00 in morning trading. Books closed
on Tuesday with a final IPO price of 18.50 euros, the company
said.
    The listing of IONOS, whose closest peer is U.S.-based
GoDaddy  GDDY.N , was seen as a test for market sentiment after
IPO activity all but ground to a halt in 2022.
    The offering was oversubscribed multiple times at the bottom
of the proposed valuation range of 18.50 to 22.50 euros per
share, in a sign that markets may be cautiously opening up to
new entrants.
    A meaningful portion of orders came from hedge funds in the
run-up to the listing, a source close to the matter said before
books closed on Tuesday.
    The deal piqued the interest of a significant number of
investors, with roughly 750 meetings set up to market the IPO,
the source added.
    Underwriters for the deal may use an "over-allotment" option
to issue additional shares, giving the company a free-float of
17.3%.
    IONOS parent United Internet  UTDI.DE  and minority
shareholder Warburg Pincus could make as much as 447 million
euros from the flotation.
 (Reporting by Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro 
Editing by Rachel More and Mark Potter)
 ((Pablo.MayoCerqueiro@thomsonreuters.com;))