LONDON/PARIS, Feb 8 (Reuters) – French care home operator Medica <MDCA.PA> raised 275 million euros ($376 million) in an initial public offering after cutting the IPO price by about a quarter, setting an example for others mulling stock market flotations.

Sources close to the deal said on Monday the IPO was oversubscribed after the company and its private equity owner BC Partners [BCPRT.UL] offered investors a hefty price cut, citing a recent deterioration in market conditions.

Medica said it would price its IPO at 13 euros per share, below a previously indicated range of 16.0 to 19.5 euros in an IPO likely to be closely watched by a list of other private equity firms considering IPOs as a way of raising cash from their investments.

“The market is sensitive over valuation, people need some upside,” said a person familiar with the matter.

LONDON/PARIS, Feb 8 (Reuters) – French care home group Medica’s 275 million euros ($375.7 million) initial public offering was finally covered after it offered investors a 19 percent price cut, sources close to the deal said.

Citing the recent deterioration in market conditions, Medica announced before the share market opened on Monday that it would price the IPO at 13 euros per share, below a 16.00-19.50 euros indicated range, and a 24 percent discount to bigger domestic rival Orpea <ORP.PA>.

Sentiment towards IPOs has cooled in the past two weeks, with Belgian chemical company Taminco forced to postpone its 400 million euro flotation plan, as investors rejected its valuation, while UK junior board listing candidate Walton & Co. cancelled a 200 million pound ($311.6 million) flotation after it failed to attract investor interest.

REVISED TERMS

LONDON (Reuters) – Equity capital market bankers have high hopes for Europe’s initial public offerings this year, but tepid investor interest so far could crush their optimism as deals get shelved or ditched.

Sentiment toward IPOs has deteriorated in the past week, with Belgian chemical company Taminco withdrawing its flotation, the UK’s Pets at Home opting for a trade sale rather than an IPO, and Helikos in Germany raising a below-target 200 million euros ($277.5 million).

“There’s a lot of work to be done to seal a deal, I don’t want to be getting ahead of myself,” said a London-based banker who is handling an IPO.

So far in 2010, Europe has registered three major IPOs raising a combined $3.1 billion, almost 40 percent of last year’s total volume of $7.9 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data. But it may be difficult to reach the $40 billion which bankers have said they target this year.

LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Pizza-to-pubs entrepreneur Hugh Osmond raised 417.7 million pounds ($667.9 million) in an initial public offering (IPO) of shell company Horizon <HZNA.L> which he plans to use as the base for a corporate acquisition spree.

Osmond set up Horizon Acquisition Co together with the former deputy chief executive of Lloyds TSB <LLOY.L> Michael Fairey and plans to use funds raised in the IPO to invest in heavily-indebted companies in the consumer sector and restructure them.

It aims to buy a British business with an enterprise value of between 1 billion and 3 billion pounds, though money raised in the IPO was towards the bottom of an expected range of 400 million to 500 million.

Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> was bookrunner for the deal and brokerage Numis was the deal’s manager.

LONDON/MOSCOW, Jan 21 (Reuters) – SUEK, Russia’s top steam coal producer, has picked five investment banks to handle a London initial public offering (IPO) in the second quarter, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

SUEK, controlled by tycoons Andrei Melnichenko and Sergei Popov, is likely to float about 10 percent of its share capital to raise around $1 billion, with about $750 million in new shares, one person said.

Another person said the IPO was likely to come in early June.

Citigroup <C.N>, Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX>, VTB <VTBR.MM>, Renaissance Capital and Bank of America Merrill Lynch <BAC.N> will arrange the offering, the people said.

FRANKFURT/LONDON, Jan 21 (Reuters) – German cable provider Kabel Deutschland [KABLD.UL] plans to raise at least 1 billion euros ($1.42 billion) in an initial public offering (IPO) as early as the second quarter, people familiar with the matter said.

Kabel Deutschland’s owners are picking bookrunners for a potential listing, the people said.

A trade sale is also being explored, and potential buyers could include Vodafone <VOD.L> and Liberty Global <LBTYA.O> as well as Blackstone <BX.N> and other private equity firms, another person familiar with the situation said.

Kabel Deutschland declined comment.

LONDON (Reuters) – New York-based travel service company Travelport launched a $2 billion initial public offering (IPO) on Tuesday to cut debt, with more IPOs on the way as private equity houses seek to offload companies they own.

The IPO, the biggest in London since New World Resources’ $2.5 billion deal in May 2008, values the company at least $3 billion and paves the way for an eventual exit of private equity house Blackstone.

Travelport, which provides travel services such as wholesale hotel bookings, aims to sell $1.775 billion worth of new shares in the listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) will buy $225 million worth of new shares at the same time as the IPO, which will give it a 7.19 percent stake in the firm.

LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) – New York-based travel service company Travelport launched a $2 billion initial public offering (IPO) on Tuesday to cut debt, with more IPOs on the way as private equity houses seek to offload companies they own.

The IPO, the biggest in London since New World Resources’<NWRS.L> $2.5 billion deal in May 2008, values the company at least $3 billion and paves the way for an eventual exit of private equity house Blackstone.

Travelport, which provides travel services such as wholesale hotel bookings, aims to sell $1.775 billion worth of new shares in the listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) will buy $225 million worth of new shares at the same time as the IPO, which will give it a 7.19 percent stake in the firm.

LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) – French care homes group Medica is set to kick off a series of initial public offerings by private-equity owners this year, people familiar with the deal said on Friday.

Medica, which provides accommodation for old people requiring long-term care, will start talking next week to potential investors for its IPO. It aims to raise at least 250 million euros ($358 million), the sources said.

Bookrunners BNP Paribas <BNPP.PA>, Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> and Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L> will start bookbuilding in the week of Jan. 25. Listing is expected around the Feb. 8 week.

A Paris listing would rank Medica alongside competitors including Orpea Sa <ORP.PA> and Korian SA <KORI.PA>.

LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Property firm Swiss Prime Site AG <SPSN.S> reopened the European convertible bond market on Thursday, easily raising up to 300 million Swiss francs ($291 million) and boding well for a bulging pipeline of imminent deals.

Arranged by Credit Suisse <CSGN.VX> and UBS <UBSN.VX>, the deal will refinance an existing convertible and reduce bank debt. It was oversubscribed within an hour of launch and was multiple times covered, an official involved in the transaction said.

“There was a bit of a quiet period on the convertible markets in December. With this deal now confirming investor risk appetite come back in the new year, deals will come to the market sooner than later,” said a convertible bond banker.

According to Thomson Reuters data, European convertible bond issuance bounced back from $16 billion in 2008 to $36.2 billion in 2009, from a pre-crisis level of $34.9 billion in 2007. Bankers expect a pick up in M&A activity to support volumes this year. Swiss Prime’s five-year convertible bond was 76 percent taken by outright investors, who tend to buy and hold, with the rest of the deal going to hedge funds. That was above the 50 percent level usually seen last year.