Retail FX and CFD broker Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS) has announced that it intends to apply for admission of all of its issued ordinary shares to listing on the premium listing segment of the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and to trading on London Stock Exchange plc’s Main Market for listed securities.
The company’s ticker symbol will remain to be PLUS. The Main Market listing is expected to occur on or about June 25.
The move comes a few weeks after Plus500 announced record quarterly Revenues of $297 million for Q1-2018, positioning the company as the UK’s largest online CFD broker, ahead of established Main Market listed rivals such as IG Group (latest quarterly Revenues of $192 million) and CMC Markets.
And in a related (and obvious) move, the company gave notice of the intended cancellation of trading of its shares on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.
Plus500 said in a statement that it believes that the Main Market is the most appropriate trading platform for the continued growth of the group and, together with a premium listing, will:
- provide a more appropriate platform for the continued growth of the Group and further raise its profile and status;
- increase the profile of the Group in the UK and internationally, thereby helping it to attract new customers;
- benefit Shareholders due to the further development of the Group’s corporate governance, regulatory and reporting disciplines (although the Group already adopts many of the corporate governance, regulatory and reporting disciplines of companies with a Premium Listing);
- further place the Company in a better position to achieve improved liquidity and valuation in its Ordinary Shares due to the higher number of institutional investors which regularly trade in the shares of companies admitted to the premium listing segment of the Official List;
- facilitate potential inclusion in the FTSE indices;
- provide diversification of funding sources to support the Group’s long-term growth;
- result in the Ordinary Shares becoming an improved currency for any acquisitions, as appropriate; and
- further assist in the incentivisation and retention of key management and employees.
Asaf Elimelech, Plus500
Asaf Elimelech, Plus500 Chief Executive Officer commented:
Since our AIM IPO in 2013, we have grown the business many times over and become a more mature business in governance, regulatory and reporting terms. We therefore believe now is the right time to seek the listing to help further advance our ambitious global growth plans. The recent announcement of regulatory changes to the CFD industry by ESMA has also ensured that the framework in which we operate is now the clearest it has ever been.
We believe that the listing and our shares being traded on the Main Market will provide a number of benefits for shareholders, including increasing the Company’s profile and status, providing currency for growth and facilitating potential inclusion in FTSE indices. Together these developments are expected to enhance the liquidity of the Company’s shares and provide a greater range of potential investors for the Company both in the UK and overseas, reflecting the global nature of its business.
Admission will be effected through an introduction of all of the existing issued Ordinary Shares. The Company will not be issuing any new Ordinary Shares in conjunction with the proposed Admission.
It is expected that the Company will publish a prospectus in connection with Admission on or around the week commencing 18 June 2018 and that the Ordinary Shares will be admitted to the Official List and commence trading on the Main Market, simultaneously with trading being cancelled on AIM, at 8:00 a.m. on 25 June 2018 (being at least 20 business days after the date of this announcement), subject to the receipt of the necessary approvals from the UK Listing Authority and the London Stock Exchange.
The Ordinary Shares will continue to be registered with their existing ISIN number IL0011284465 and SEDOL number BBT3PS9.
Liberum Capital Limited is acting as sponsor to the company in connection with Admission.
Plus500 also noted that the company’s existing shareholders should consult their own tax advisers as to the tax implications of the company’s proposed move to the Main Market. Generally, on the move to the Main Market, the depository interests representing Ordinary Shares (“DIs”) will continue to be excluded from being “chargeable securities” and as a result no stamp duty reserve tax (SDRT) will be payable by the purchasers of those DIs.