The timing seems interesting given what has happened this week to publicly traded CFD broker Plus500 Ltd (LON:PLUS), but the London Evening Standard has reported that UK spreadbetting broker CMC Markets is making progress on its IPO planned for later this year.
We reported back in September that, following a nice turnaround in its finances, CMC was looking at an IPO which could potentially value the company at up to £1 billion ($1.5 billion).
According to Evening Standard city sources, CMC has indeed started to move things forward and is in discussions with investment banks over the long-awaited move, negotiating fees and planning strategy for the offering.
Apparently CMC is likely to formally confirm the float plans as early as next week, when CMC is expected to report financial results for the financial year ended March 31. If the results are good, it certainly would be a good platform from which to launch an IPO.
CMC is owned 90% by founder Peter Cruddas (pictured at right), and 10% by US investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS). Cruddas re-took the reigns as CEO at CMC in early 2013, and has overseen a nice overhaul of the business and its return to profitability.
CMC has been beefing up its management ranks lately, hiring the former CEO of insolvent broker Alpari UK David Hodge as Chief Commercial Officer, and former IG Group exec Alex Maslin as Institutional Sales Manager.
To see the London Evening Standard article click here.