Travelport could revive IPO plans

Travelport has said it will consider reviving its plans to float on the London stock market after deciding pull a £1.2billion IPO

Travelport has said it will consider reviving its plans to float on the London stock market after deciding pull a £1.2billion IPO.


With rival Amadeus also believed to be planning an IPO, analysts have said the decision was not a good sign for other firms planning to float this year.


Reports today suggest Travelport may consider a trade sale but Jeff Clarke, its chief executive, said it will consider bringing the IPO back when market conditions improve.


He blamed the decision to scrap the IPO on “increased volatility and uncertainty in global equity markets as a result of macroeconomic circumstances unrelated to our business”.


Travelport, which had hoped to raise £1.2 billion largely to help it finance its debt, had slashed the price range for its shares from between 210p to 290p to 180p to 190p.


However, this still failed to boost interest from potential investors who were said to have been partly put off by a less than generous bonus scheme.


On Tuesday UK-based GEO Monitor, which provides research, modeling, valuation and analyst access for all global IPOs, rated the flotation as ‘Avoid’.


It’s assessment of the IPO said: “Considering the modest growth in top-line, concerns regarding a highly leveraged balance sheet and fairly priced IPO, we do not expect significant return from the offering over our six to 24 month investment horizon.”