IONOS sets IPO price guidance at lower end of range

LONDON (Reuters) - German web hosting firm IONOS plans to sell shares at the lower end of the targeted price range in its initial public offering (IPO) on the Frankfurt bourse, a deal seen as a potential icebreaker for the reopening of European markets.

The company is offering stock at 18.50 to 19.50 euros ($19.94-$21.02) per share, compared with the original price range of 18.50 euros to 22.50 euros, according to a bookrunner message seen by Reuters on Monday.

Books were covered across the full deal size shortly after its official launch on the morning of Jan. 30. The offering runs through to 1400 local time (1300 GMT) on Tuesday, with the first day of trading scheduled for Wednesday.

IONOS is the first major float in Europe since Porsche's blockbuster debut in Germany last September.

The deal is seen as a test of equity investors' appetite for newly publicly traded companies after IPO activity plunged in 2022.

IONOS parent United Internet and minority partner Warburg Pincus are selling down their stakes.

($1 = 0.9277 euros)

(Reporting by Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro; Editing by Jason Neely and Jan Harvey)