Looks like this is Healthscope all over again.. The JLMs have secured strong commitments from institutional investors in Asia and now heading to US. The domestic fundies will get squeezed again.
BANKERS working on the float of the government-owned health insurer Medibank Private will be courting investors in the US this week in an effort to drum up further offshore support for the business, worth up to $5.5 billion.
Commitments are already said to have been secured from institutional investors in Asia, following presentations in Hong Kong and Singapore last week, according to sources who say Medibank is the largest initial public offering happening globally.
After heading to the US, the roadshow will move to Europe over the weekend.
Among offshore institutions that have so far shown interest are Fidelity Investments.
As expected, offshore investors have been attracted to the upcoming float partly on the back of previous government privatisation success stories on the local market, such as the floats of the Commonwealth Bank, Telstra and CSL.
Medibank is raising between $4.3bn and $5.5bn in the initial public offering at an indicative price range of $1.55 to $2 per share.
Historically with Australian government privatisations retail investors have been able to buy 50 per cent to 60 per cent of shares.
Some close to the deal are optimistic that offshore interest will be extremely strong.
Broker firms last week submitted nearly $12bn in binding bids on behalf of retail clients, but got only $1.5bn of the allocation.
Investors are set to struggle with the wide indicative range, which values Medibank at 16.5 times to 21.3 times forecast 2015 earnings.
Although some investors and analysts have suggested pricing towards the higher end, there is also caution that the stock will have risk in terms of aftermarket trading if it is priced over the top of the range.
Institutions won’t submit their prices until November 18, when the book opens, and the final price will be determined in a three-day bookbuild and be announced on November 25.
