Blackstone has emerged as a big winner in the $1.1 billion IPO of Tradeweb Markets, which recorded a 33% gain on its first day of trading. Demand for the upsized offering was incredibly strong, as the company priced at $27 per share, above its expected range. By closing, the price had soared to $35.81, pinning the trading platform's market cap at around $8 billion.You may recall that Blackstone's purchase of 55% of Refinitv (né TR Financial&Risk) which valued the enterprise at $20 billion got some attention last year. It also funded Reuters for all eternity.
Tradeweb's IPO was the second largest in the US this year, behind only Lyft's $2.3B offering. And after the ridehailing giant's uneven performance so far as a public company, Tradeweb's early success could be a good sign for other multibillion-dollar private companies poised to go public in the coming months, such as Uber and Pinterest.
It's also good news for Blackstone, whose other portfolio company Alight Solutions postponed its IPO two weeks ago. The benefits administrator had hoped to raise up to $800 million from the offering.
Tradeweb, the operator of a platform that facilitates trading of bonds, derivatives and other securities, is owned by Refinitiv, which a Blackstone-led group purchased 55% of last year from Thomson Reuters in a deal that valued the unit at around $20 billion. Refinitiv will maintain majority control over the trading platform after the offering and will use proceeds to purchase shares from several banks that own Tradeweb stock....MORE
See Alexandra Scaggs at Barron's "What the Biggest Leveraged Buyout of 2018 Says About the Credit Boom"
If interested see the Financial Times' Paul Murphy on how former parent Pearson screwed up the opportunity for the FT to have evolved on a similar trajectory:
Possibly The Funniest (Profitable) Stock Recommendation of All Time (PSON)
