Midwich shareholders to net £50m IPO windfall

Diss-based distributor set to debut on AIM with market capitalisation of £165.3m

Midwich's shareholders are set to bag nearly £50m from its IPO, the distributor said as it revealed it expects to debut on AIM with a market capitalisation of £165.3m.

The Diss-based audio-visual distributor said this morning it expects to raise gross proceeds of £75.2m when its shares are admitted to the junior stock market on Friday for 208 pence each.

The placing values Midwich at £165.3m, roughly 13 times the operating profit it reported in its most recent annual accounts.

Of the expected gross proceeds, some £49.2m will be for the benefit of selling shareholders, the distributor said.

The remaining £26m will go on partially paying down debt under Midwich's existing facilities, funding the final cash consideration relating to its acquisition of German arm Kern & Stelly and repaying existing shareholder loans.

Under its IPO, Midwich will place 36,157,010 new and existing ordinary shares at 208 pence each. Following the placing, all of its 79,448,200 ordinary shares will be admitted to trading on AIM, with the admission set to take place on 6 May.

Following the admission, Midwich managing director Stephen Fenby and related parties will hold about 27.9 per cent of the distributor's issued ordinary share capital. Other directors, senior management and staff will hold a 26.6 per cent slice.

"We are delighted to announce the pricing of our IPO and forthcoming admission to AIM," said Fenby (pictured).

"Today represents an important milestone in the Group's history and becoming a public company will further enhance Midwich's leading competitive position as a specialist AV and document solutions distributor to the trade market. I would like to welcome our new shareholders and I am very excited about the next stage of our journey as we continue to grow both in the UK and internationally."

Following an international expansion drive, Midwich operates not only in the UK and Ireland but also France, Germany and Australasia.

According to its most recent annual accounts, group sales reached £280.8m for the 12 months ended 31 December, with £90.6m of the total coming from outside of the UK.

Operating profit for the year reached £12.62m, with after-tax profit hitting £10.4m and retained profit standing at £7m.