Flotation to value Jupiter at up to £748m as IPO prices at lower end of range

The fund manager Jupiter is set to sell shares in its initial public offering (IPO) towards the bottom of its guidance, showing that investors are still cautious amid weak markets, a source close to the deal said.

Jupiter's offer to sell 122 million new shares and the sale of up to 59 million sold by the current owners was covered at 160p to 170p per share. The new guidance values the company at up to £748m. The offer began on 2 June with an original price range set at 150p to 210p.

The sale of shares is likely to be less than £300m. A final sale price is scheduled to be announced early today and the shares will start trading in London on Monday.

Long-term institutional investors in the UK are likely to make up more than three-quarters of the order book. An IPO order book where long-term investors outnumber hedge funds is usually regarded as positive because it minimises volatility when the shares start trading.

The listing will mark Jupiter's second outing on the London Stock Exchange. It first listed in 1991 before being taken private in 1995 when it was bought by Commerzbank. The ownership passed to staff in a management buyout backed by the private equity firm TA Associates in 2007. A motive behind the current IPO is to refinance the debt issued as part of that transaction.

TA Associates, which now has a 25 per cent stake, will hold about 17 per cent of the company following the sale. Other large shareholders include the highly-regarded fund manager Tony Nutt, who runs the Jupiter Income Trust, with 9 per cent of the company that will reduce to 4.9 per cent after the IPO.

Mr Nutt's stake after the deal would be worth about £36.6m if the deal priced at 170p. His colleague Philip Gibbs, who manages Jupiter's flagship Financial Opportunities fund, will hold 3.43 per cent of the company worth up to £25.6m.

The chief executive Edward Bonham Carter, brother of the actress Helena Bonham Carter, will be left with a 3.34 per cent stake in the company, worth about £25m.