Carbon trading platform Xpansiv is set to pop the bonnet for listed equities investors in an effort to raise more than $500 million and list on the ASX in a $2 billion-odd float.

Fund managers have been told to ready for Xpansiv’s hefty pathfinder prospectus, which will lay out the company, its industry and financial forecasts, and gear up for meetings with company CEO Joe Madden and CFO Suzy Taherian this week, in a clear sign IPO marketing is finally hitting full steam.

Xpansiv is expected to seek to raise $550 million to $600 million via the sale of new shares, and potentially some more capital on behalf of existing investors selling down their stakes.

The bulk of the primary capital raised would be used to acquire APX, the leading provider of registry infrastructure in Xpansiv’s world of energy and environmental markets.

The acquisition, earlier dubbed “Moonraker” and understood to be worth about $US300 million ($425 million), completes Xpansiv’s vertical integration, with the company already owning the trading platform and associated data/trading infrastructure.

Xpansiv’s run at the ASX feels like it has been a long time coming. The group fronted fundies for two pre-IPO raisings last year, picking up $US140 million, and has been on a handful of non-deal roadshows.

Pre-IPO investors reckon the company’s likely to predict $120 million to $140 million revenue in the 2022 calendar year, based on recent volume metrics.

There have been clearly been easier times to list from a wider equity capital markets perspective. However, Xpansiv needs its funding for APX and reckons its story is compelling enough to draw in specialist global growth funds and ESG players and overcome wider volatility.

Barrenjoey, Shaw and Partners and UBS are leading the IPO.

Article source: AFR 1 May 2022