AvaTrade considering London IPO worth 700£ million

Dublin-based broker AvaTrade is keen to join the rush for a high-profile listing in London, Sky News recently reported.

Reports suggest listing on the London Stock Exchange could see the Irish trading platform valued at between £550m and £700m.

AvaTrade has selected JP Morgan and Jefferies to lead preparations for its IPO, which could take place in the coming months. The sources, who requested anonymity to discuss the plans, warned the exact timing and valuation will be subject to market conditions and investor appetites.

AvaTrade, which was founded in 2006 by Emanuel Kronitz and Negev Nosatzki, may initially apply to be listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE). AIM is a sub-market of the LSE where small companies are traded and which also offers a more flexible regulatory system than that of the main exchange.

AvaTrade's value has increased sixfold in five years

AvaTrade's proposed IPO would see the company join the ranks of other UK listed brokers including CMC Markets and IG Group. In mid-2020, CMC Markets (LSE: CMCX) was inducted into the FTSE 250, a stock market index that measures the largest companies on the London Stock Exchange.

At the top of its IPO range, AvaTrade would be worth six times more than the price offered by Playtech, once controlled by Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi, in 2015. The gambling software publisher had offered to pay $105 million, but the deal failed after Ireland's central bank opposed the acquisition.

Such a jump in valuation underscores the growth of its platform. AvaTrade delivered strong underlying performance throughout the year, which was bolstered by increased activity in the market in 2020. Supported by Covid-induced volatility, the company said in December that it had developed a client base of over 290,000 traders in 145 countries.

Based in Ireland, AvaTrade Group is a provider of a full spectrum of trading instruments, including forex, stocks, commodities, vanilla options, cryptocurrencies and indices. The company is licensed by six independent regulators, including the BVI Financial Services Commission, the Central Bank of Ireland, the Japanese Financial Services Authority, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the South Africa Financial Services Board.

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