QinetiQ, a technology firm formed out of Britain's Ministry of Defence, said its flotation is priced at 200 pence a share.
Strong demand from investors led to the shares being priced near the top of a 165-205p price range, giving QinetiQ a market value of about £1.3 billion sterling when it started trading on the London Stock Exchange this morning.
The IPO raised a total of £617.5m, which the MoD said was an 'excellent result for the taxpayer'. Demand amounted to nearly six times the amount of shares on offer, according to a source close to the process.
Some of the money raised will go to QinetiQ's main shareholders, the MoD and private equity group Carlyle, who trimmed their stakes through the flotation. The company will receive £150m, which it plans to use to fund growth and reduce its pension deficit.
The MoD remains QinetiQ's biggest shareholder with 23.9%, while Carlyle retains 13%. They can not sell more of their stakes until a 180-day lock-up period ends.
