The online greetings card and gifting business listed on the London Stock Exchange today (2 February) with its shares priced at 350p, valuing the group at around £1.2bn.
The offer price was at the top end of pre-float expectations.
The share price shot up to 450.09p after the market opened, and had settled at 438.3p at the time of writing.
Moonpig is the first major technology firm to float this year, and the Financial Times pointed to investor enthusiasm for so-called “Covid winners”.
Other tech firms pursuing IPOs in London include Deliveroo and Trustpilot.
Moonpig chief executive Nickyl Raithatha (pictured below) hailed the milestone achievement.
He said: “We are proud to be joining the main market of London Stock Exchange and I would like to thank everyone at the group for their hard work. Listing on the London Stock Exchange is an incredibly special milestone and will provide new opportunities for the business.
“We are confident that Moonpig Group will continue to make gifting even more effortless for millions of people across the UK and internationally. As the leaders of a market undergoing an accelerating shift to online, now is the perfect time for us to bring the company to the public market, and we are excited about Moonpig’s prospects for the future.”
The offer of some 5.7m new shares will raise around £20m, while certain existing shareholders are selling 134.6m shares, “equating to a total offer size of £491.2m and representing 41% of Moonpig’s issued share capital on admission”.
A further 14m shares are available through an over-allotment option.
The group’s issued share capital will be 342.1m Shares
A spokesperson told Printweek that all Moonpig Group staff were able to participate in an employee share scheme at the time of the IPO.
Moonpig was owned by private equity firm Exponent.
Moonpig is among a number of e-commerce businesses where business has boomed due the pandemic. In the six months to 31 October 2020 it reported a huge increase in sales to £155.9m, up 135% on the prior year.
Unconditional share dealings are expected to begin on 5 February.
Moonpig is also expected to join the FTSE 250 index. Its shares are listed under the ticker 'Moon'.
Moonpig Group also owns the Netherlands-based Greetz business.
