New Star Asset Management Considering London Flotation

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

24 August 2005

Fund management firm New Star Asset Management, is currently considering whether to list on the London Stock Exchange in an initial public offering which could be worth £800 million, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.

The firm has reportedly been holding discussions with various investment banks for the advisory role in the IPO, with a view to taking the company public in September, and it is anticipated by people familiar with the situation that UBS is the candidate most likely to win the business.

If New Star decides to press ahead with the flotation, the company is expected to be valued at £800 million. This would place the stake of the company's head, John Duffield, at £160 million, while other board members could have a combined stake worth as much as £320 million.

Launched in July 2001, New Star Investment Funds had attracted more than £6.4 billion of retail assets under management at 29 July 2005, and is now the largest independent retail fund manager in the UK. Total assets managed by New Star Asset Management group stood in excess of £13.5 billion at the end of July.

Three-quarters of the equity funds launched by New Star are in the top quartile of their sectors since their respective launch dates.

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