Civica increases IPO valuation to £79m

The software and services company Civica yesterday saidit would be valued at £79m when it floats on London's junior market, AIM, on Monday.

The valuation, it said, had improved over the past few weeks from an expected £75m as new investors rushed to buy. The offer is said to have been more than two times covered.

Previous reports had suggested the company would be worth about £90m when it floated but that figure, Civica pointed out, was an enterprise value and so also included debt.

Shares in the company have been priced at 175p each.

Civica, which makes software for speed cameras, is raising £13.7m of new money, which it will use to pay down debt, while existing shareholders, who include Alchemy Partners, JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are selling £30m of stock.

The company's management team, who own 1.5 per cent of the shares between them, are not selling any stock. They have been granted options over a 13 per cent stake.

The company said Alchemy would remain the largest shareholder after the flotation with a stake of about 37 per cent. Simon Downing, the chief executive, and Michael Stoddard, the finance director, will each get a bonus of £100,000 on flotation.