H2Ocean Ltd, a company which invests in a diversified global portfolio of early and growth stage financial technology (fintech) companies, has announced that it is extending the reach of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and offering shares to retail investors through fintech firm OnMarket.
Ben Heap, co-founder of H2Ocean, said:
We are delighted that investors can subscribe for H2Ocean shares through OnMarket, a fintech in its own right, and a platform that is designed to allow retail investors to access IPOs just like H2Ocean.”
H2Ocean is set to list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on October 16 and is looking to raise up to $55 million via its IPO. The minimum investment size is $2,200, and all Australian investors can participate. The offer closes on October 11.
The IPO will provide investors with the opportunity to access a diversified portfolio of typically privately held fintech ventures, with the objectives of delivering capital growth and providing an investment alternative to traditional listed equities.
Nick Motteram, a managing director of OnMarket BookBuilds, said H2Ocean chose to offer its IPO to the public using the OnMarket portal to get a broader reach to investors.
There is growing awareness in Australia of the huge potential that fintech has to transform our financial system and disrupt the traditional financial institutions. Fintechs like OnMarket BookBuilds have strong growth potential and H2Ocean is backing the sector because of the significant opportunity that exists to provide more efficient and consumer focussed financial services using technology,” Motteram added.
Brothers Ben and Toby Heap are the co-founders and directors of H2Ocean, and will be joined on the board by non-executive directors, media personality David Koch, Wyatt Roy, the former federal innovation minister, and Beyond Bank chairman Anne O’Donnell.
The Australian IPO market gained momentum in August, with the 10 companies which listed raising $1.2 billion and returning an average 34.1%, according to a new report, the OnMarket August IPO Report 2016.
The average monthly return from the August IPOs compared to a 2.3% drop for the S&P/ASX 200. Year-to-date returns have been strong at 24.8% compared with 13% for the same period in 2015.
These returns build on an impressive IPO performance in 2015, when the average return of the 93 companies that listed on the ASX that year was 23%. That return compares well with the S&P/ASX 200, which lost 3% in the same period, led by losses for large-cap stocks.