Belgacom’s €3.6bn initial public offering
Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, USB, Dexia and KBC were joint global co-ordinators and joint bookrunners
For markets that have long been running scared of telecoms listings, the Belgacom initial public offering (IPO) was a blow-out deal. At €3.6bn, including a green shoe, it was the largest IPO in Europe since Orange in February 2001 and the largest IPO ever in Belgium.
The deal’s notable features include the tough market conditions and rising volatility at the time, with the overall market and sector trading down by 5%-6% during a bookbuilding period that coincided with the Madrid terrorist attacks. As a consequence of extensive marketing – the management met almost 700 investors – a total demand of more than €11bn was generated. The deal was priced at the midpoint of guidance but, in solid after-market performance, shares had risen 4.8% on the first day of trading.
