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dental ipo as per today like ont

Dental centres operator eyes $100m-plus IPO

• The Australian
• August 27, 2014 12:00AM

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Bridget Carter

Mergers and Acquisitions Editor
Sydney
PACIFIC Smiles Group has plans to float as a public company by the end of the year, according to sources.
The company owns and operates the Pacific Smiles Dental Centres and the dental care centres of the private health insurer NIB throughout NSW, Victoria, the ACT and Queensland.
Founded by Alex Abrahams, who is an executive director, Pacific Smiles has drafted in the Commonwealth Bank as adviser for its mooted listing while Bell Potter is also thought to have an involvement.
The company, of which John Gibbs is chief executive, is owned by management and boutique fund managers including TDM Asset Management.
While the size of the float is unclear, sources have estimated it could be worth at least $100m.
Should the deal proceed, it adds to evidence that companies exposed to the healthcare sector are in strong demand for initial public offerings.
Private hospitals operator Healthscope and aged-care provider Japara Healthcare are among the companies to have staged successful listings this year. Other sectors in strong demand include education and technology.
Meanwhile, the float of payments business Ezidebit is capturing plenty of attention from fund managers.
The company is earmarked to list on the Australian Securities Exchange by the end of the year under the watch of investment banks Macquarie Capital and Deutsche.
The banks recently conducted roadshows for the business in Hong Kong, Sydney and Melbourne, and it was believed to have been well received.
Owned by the Brisbane-based Dempsey family, it carries out about $3.3bn in payments annually, with about 1.52m customers. Clients include personal trainers and childcare centres.
Some institutional investors also favour the float prospects of leading intellectual property firm Spruson Ferguson.
The float hopeful had more earnings certainty than some of the listed law firms, which were more capital intensive due to prolonged cases, a source said.