Clonmel-based engineering firm Kentz has made its market debut on London's AIM this morning.
The company said that the placing raised £66.7m sterling before expenses. £18.8m of this was raised by the company, before expenses, with the remainder going to selling shareholders.
The placing price was 115p per share, valuing the company at £133.8m
The company's clients are mainly in the oil, gas and mining sectors and it operates in some of the most remote locations on earth. Its main activities are the provision of mechanical, electrical, controls and instrumentation engineering, construction and management services.
It has operations in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, Madagascar, Russia, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Indonesia, USA, Canada, the Caribbean, Australia, Norway and Ireland. It employs over 7,000 people on a full time basis.
Kentz generated revenues of $370m and pre-tax profits of $25m in 2006.
'We are delighted to announce our admission to AIM, which is an important milestone in the company's history,' commented Hugh O'Donnell, CEO of Kentz said.
'We believe that Kentz's proven track record with blue-chip clients and potential growth opportunities, particularly in the oil, gas and mining sectors, has generated strong support from a broad range of investors,' he added.
'We believe that being a publicly traded company will allow us to consolidate the hard work and investment in the business over the recent years and enable us to further our position in the engineering and construction marketplace,' Mr O'Donnell said.
