By Charlie Conchie and Alexander Hübner
LONDON/MUNICH (Reuters) -The anticipated IPO of Deutsche Boerse subsidiary ISS Stoxx is unlikely this year, three people familiar with the matter said, even after Ottobock broke a drought of IPOs in Europe’s biggest economy this month.
While Deutsche Boerse has said both a listing of ISS Stoxx and buying out minority investor General Atlantic were under consideration, advisers hoped it would be among the first IPOs after the summer break.
An IPO attempt is now not expected before 2026, the three sources said. That makes the possibility of Deutsche Boerse buying General Atlantic’s 20% stake now more likely, two of them said.
The waning share price of listed peers like the London Stock Exchange Group and the valuation sought by Deutsche Boerse were among the reasons cited for not floating now, two of the sources said.
POSSIBLE BRAINLAB MOVE
A spokesperson for Frankfurt-based market operator Deutsche Boerse said all options and timelines are still being considered and that “no decision has been taken yet.”
The listing of the world’s largest prosthetics maker Ottobock is not seen as a sign of more deals to come in the autumn in Germany, multiple people told Reuters.
Only Munich-based medical technology firm Brainlab might revive its postponed IPO plans in the coming weeks, two further sources with knowledge of the company’s plans said, though no decision has been made yet.
The five people spoke on condition of anonymity because the deliberations are private.
A Brainlab spokesperson said: “We’re watching the market environment and checking our options. We don’t comment on market rumours.”
THYSSENKRUPP MARINE SYSTEMS, AUMOVIO SPINOFFS
Warship manufacturer Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) could be spun off from parent company Thyssenkrupp and listed independently this month, Reuters has reported.
However, that would not be considered a traditional IPO since 49% of the shares would be booked into the portfolios of existing Thyssenkrupp shareholders and no new capital would be raised.
Analysts estimate TKMS’s valuation to be between 2.3 billion euros and 2.7 billion euros ($2.66 billion-$3.12 billion).
A similar move was made in September by tire manufacturer Continental and its auto parts subsidiary Aumovio. The deal was well received by the market and valued the company at 3.5 billion euros.
STAKE SALES, AUTODOC IPO POSTPONED
Hopes for other German IPOs have already faded.
The owners of Hessian pharmaceutical company Stada opted in September to sell to London-based buyout firm CapVest, cancelling the IPO. Investors also acquired stakes in power grid operator TenneT Deutschland.
Oldenburgische Landesbank (OLB) was sold to the French owner of rival Targobank, Crédit Mutuel, while Berlin-based auto parts retailer Autodoc postponed its IPO plans in June.
Some IPO advisers are therefore turning their attention to next year, with early hopefuls including Mobile.de, TK Elevators, and KNDS.
($1 = 0.8644 euros)
(Reporting by Alexander Huebner, Charlie Conchie, Amy-Jo Crowley, editing by Kirsti Knolle, Anousha Sakoui, Aidan Lewis)
