Owners of payments firm Worldpay narrow IPO price range-sources

[LONDON] The private-equity owners of British payments processor Worldpay Group Ltd, Advent International and Bain Capital, have cut the top end of the price range set for the company's London listing, two sources familiar with the matter said.

The top end of the range was cut to 250 pence per share from 260, while the bottom was raised to 235 from 225.

Worldpay is seeking a market valuation of about £4.9 billion (US$7.5 billion) from its initial public offering, one source said.

That would make the IPO the biggest on London's main market this year, but would be far less than the offer of up to £6.6 billion that a source had said Worldpay rejected earlier this year from French rival Ingenico Group SA.

A bookrunner for the deal said earlier this month that Worldpay was seeking a valuation of between £4.5 billion and £5.2 billion.

Advent and Bain bought Worldpay, which provides platforms that allow merchants to accept payments by cards and other methods, from Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in 2010 for about £2 billion. They declined to comment on Friday.

The change in pricing was first reported by the Financial Times. London has seen fewer firms go public this year, with 93 listings raising about £5.3 billion by Sept 30, roughly half the £11 billion raised from 136 listing in the same period last year, according to stock exchange data.

Choppy market conditions have made it harder for companies to come to market in recent weeks.

Hastings Insurance, which is also seeking a London listing, is expected to price its IPO at 170 pence per share, below its indicated range of 180-185 pence, a banking source told Reuters earlier on Friday.

REUTERS