Denis O’Brien’s mobile-services company Digicel is planning to raise between $1.5bn and $2bn in an initial public offering as soon as this month, Bloomberg is reporting.
The company, whose operations span the Caribbean and South Pacific, is preparing an IPO for as soon as after the Federal Reserve reviews US interest rates next week, according to sources who spoke with Bloomberg.
The plans may change depending on the Fed’s decision, the sources said. Market conditions after the 16-17 September US rates meeting will provide the nearest opportunity to set a price range for the offering.
Mr O’Brien founded Digicel in 2001 in Jamaica, a year after he received a $288m windfall from selling Esat Telecom to London-based BT Group.
Digicel, which operates in 31 markets, plans to use proceeds from the IPO for capital spending, acquisitions and to pay down debt, which totalled $6.5bn at the end of June, according to company filings.
In June, Digicel filed to sell shares in the US and said it would list them on the New York Stock Exchange.
For the year to March, Digicel reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $1.18bn, on revenue of $2.79bn.
Head of Research with Merrion Capital David Holohan said the company could fetch an enterprise value of $8.4bn to $9.6bn, which would be seven to eight times last year’s Ebitda, including debt.
JP Morgan Chase & Co, UBS and Citigroup are managing the IPO. Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, and Davy are also working on the offering.
