Kesa debuts with £1bn tag
KESA Electricals was given a £1bn price-tag as shares in the company, a spin-off from Kingfisher, made their stock market debut today.
They opened towards the bottom end of analysts' expectations, at 192p, briefly rising to 202p amid heavy trading before later falling back to 189p.
At that level, the business, which takes in the Comet electricals chain in the UK as well as BUT and Darty in France, is valued at a whisker more than £1bn. Some 80% of its profits are made in France.
The demerger of the electricals operation is the final step in the transformation of Kingfisher, leaving it free to focus on its B&Q and Castorama do-it-yourself operations.
Kingfisher has demerged the Woolworths stores business and sold its Superdrug shops chain.
Shareholders in Kingfisher were given one Kesa share for each Kingfisher share, but Kesa shares were then consolidated on the basis of one-for-five. The primary listing is in London but Kesa shares will also have a secondary listing in France, on the Premier Marche of Euronext Paris.
Kingfisher shares opened at 278 1/2p, later falling to 272p, against Friday's closing level of 274 1/4p. At 272p, Kingfisher is valued at £6.3bn.
Prospects for Kesa have been clouded by the ongoing investigation into the market for extended warranties in the UK and the slowdown in the electricals market. But analysts say that, should the shares slip much below 200p, the group could become an attractive takeover target.
