UK-based online greeting card & gifts retailer, Moonpig, has confirmed plans for a $1.6B (approx €1.3B) initial public offering (IPO) listing on the London Stock Exchange.
The move comes after Moonpig’s demand for personalised products were boosted during the pandemic as social distancing rules prevented people from meeting, hence opted to send cards and gifts instead.
Transaction overview
The firm says at least 25 per cent of its share capital would be made available at the initial public offering (IPO), which is set to take place next month.
BlackRock and Dragoneer Global Fund have already agreed to buy £130M (approx €146.1M) of the shares – £80M (approx €89.9M) and £50M (approx €56.2M), respectively. Previously, the two US firms had also invested in The Hut Group’s recent flotation.
Nickyl Raithatha, CEO of Moonpig Group, says, “As leaders of a market undergoing an accelerating shift online, we’re delighted to bring Moonpig Group to the public market. Our data-powered technology platform makes it incredibly easy for our customers to create more special moments for the people they care about. As the market-leading platform, with a strong track record, and a huge opportunity to grow, we are confident about our decision to become a publicly-traded business.”
According to The Guardian, Moonpig is chaired by Kate Swann, the former chief executive of WH Smith who is expected to make £7M (approx €7.8M) from the IPO. While Nickyl Raithatha, the Moonpig CEO, is in line for £11M (approx €12.3M), and the finance director, Andy MacKinnon, will also benefit, with £2M (approx €2.2M). In addition, the retailer’s 450 employees will also be given shares.
Moonpig hired Citigroup and JPMorgan to co-ordinate the float, while HSBC, Jefferies International and Numis Securities have been appointed bookrunners.
About Moonpig
The company was founded in 1999 by Nick Jenkins, Moonpig offers a new concept in buying greeting cards. Users can order most of the best selling greeting card designs seen in the shops, but they have an option to personalise it by adding a caption to create a completely unique card.
Nick Jenkins, a former commodities trader at Glencore and a “dragon” on the British television programme Dragon’s Den, made £42M (approx €47.2M) in 2011 from the sale of the business to the online photo printing company Photobox, which was subsequently bought by the private equity firms, Electra and Exponent.
Exponent acquired the business in 2016 from a wide ownership base, including six VC investors and from a group of individual shareholders. The company mentions on its website that it had backed Doug McCallum as Operating Chair who was previously appointed as Operating Chair of Trainline. “We have since appointed Kate Swann, former WH Smith CEO, as Operating Chair of Moonpig Group.”
Photobox and Moonpig were split into separate businesses in 2019.
Reportedly, the firm sold 46 million cards and 7 million gifts & flowers in the 12 months to October, and it deals with up to 300,000 orders a day, via all its selling platforms. The company made £156M (approx €175.3M) in sales in the six months to the end of October as compared to last year’s entire sale of £173M (approx €194.4M)
