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Virgin Money valued at up to 1.45 billion pounds in revived listing - sources

November 05, 2014 at 05:14 am EST

LONDON (Reuters) - UK lender Virgin Money [IPO-VMH.L] will be valued at up to 1.45 billion pounds ($2.3 billion) in its revived London stock market listing, slightly lower than expectations, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The bank, backed by billionaires Richard Branson and Wilbur Ross, has set a price range of between 283 pence and 333 pence a share, giving it a valuation of 1.25-1.45 billion pounds, the sources said.

The company is seeking to raise 150 million pounds from the initial public offering (IPO), which was originally expected to value the firm at 1.5-2 billion pounds.

Virgin Money postponed its listing in October, about a fortnight after it announced its intention to float, citing weak market conditions which also claimed the offerings of UK challenger bank Aldermore and French energy services firm Spie.

However the turmoil in equity markets over concerns about global growth has eased in recent weeks, helped by some strong corporate earnings and Japan's surprise boost to its economic stimulus programme.

Virgin Money Chief Executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia said in a statement on Tuesday that improved market conditions and new Bank of England leverage rules set out last week had provided clarity for the UK banking sector, meaning the time was right to push ahead. [ID:nASM0007UW]

Virgin Financial Investments owns 46.5 percent of Virgin Money, and WL Ross, the U.S.-based investment vehicle of Wilbur Ross, owns 44.9 percent

BoA Merrill Lynch (>> Bank of America Corp) and Goldman Sachs (>> Goldman Sachs Group Inc) are leading the deal. Barclays (>> Barclays PLC) and Citi (>> Citigroup Inc) are joint bookrunners.

($1 = 0.6292 British Pounds)

(Reporting By Freya Berry, writing by Pamela Barbaglia, editing by Carmel Crimmins and Susan Thomas)

Stocks treated in this article : Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Barclays PLC

Stocks mentioned in the article

Add to a list Add to a list 0 selected To use this feature you must be a member Log in Sign up	Price	Change	5d. change	Capi.
CITIGROUP INC.	63.58 USD	+0.89%	-0.76%	121B
BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION	39.7 USD	+1.35%	+1.04%	310B
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.	461.2 USD	+0.66%	-1.40%	157B
BARCLAYS PLC	216.2 GBX	+0.53%	-0.28%	41.08B

Wilbur Ross

Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. (November 28, 1937) is an American investor known for restructuring failed companies in industries such as steel, coal, telecommunications, foreign investment and textiles. He specializes in leveraged buyouts and distressed businesses. As of August 2014, Forbes magazine lists Ross as one of the world's billionaires with a net worth of $2.9 billion. he has been bottom-fishing in mortgages and mortgage companies. He apparently commands far greater sums than his net worth would suggest.

Early life
Ross was born in Weehawken, New Jersey He drove two hours a day from New Jersey to attend the elite Catholic college preparatory Xavier High School in Manhattan. He ran track and was captain of the rifle team. He earned a B.A. from Yale College, which was also his father's alma mater. At Yale, Ross edited one of the literary magazines and worked at the radio station. Initially, he wanted to be a writer, but after his experience in a fiction class requiring 500 words daily, he concluded that he had "run out of material." His faculty adviser at Yale helped him get his first summer job on Wall Street. He earned his M.B.A. at Harvard Business School. Ross owns 25 Magrittes including some of the artist's most valuable paintings such as The Pilgrim. WL Ross & Co. was acquired by Amvescap (now Invesco) in 2006.

International Steel Group
Wilbur Ross at first had support of the local Steelworkers Union, negotiating a deal with them to "save" Pennsylvania's steel industry.

International Textile Group (ITG)
Ross combined Burlington Industries and Cone Mills in 2004 to form [[Internation

Source @ Wikipedia

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