Ao.com valued at £1.2bn as it debuts on London Stock Exchange

Ao.com’s offer price was 285p per ordinary share on debut today and its existing selling shareholders expects to sell £363m of ordinary shares.

Ao.com expects to raise total gross proceeds from the IPO to be £60m. It had been valued at between £1bn and £1.2bn in the run-up to its IPO.

Following admission to the exchange, John Roberts will hold 28.6% of ordinary shares and Steve Caunce will hold 13.6% of the shares with both subject to a 360-day lock-up on sell offs.

Ao.com chief executive John Roberts said: “I am delighted that our initial public offering has been so well received by investors. They have understood our business model and our potential. We welcome them as shareholders.

“I have never been more excited about our business. We hope to continue to grow our market-leading position in the UK and we have the opportunity to bring our business model and customer focus to the online European electricals market. Our obsession with customer service and the outstanding ability of our team leave us well positioned to deliver our vision for the future.”

Jefferies and JP Morgan Cazenove are acting as joint sponsors, joint global co-ordinators and joint bookrunners, and Numis is acting as joint bookrunner. Rothschild is acting as financial adviser to the company.