Grocery supplier Princes plans to raise $537 million in London debut

Grocery supplier Princes plans to raise $537 million in London debut

Princes Group's London IPO Details

(Removes incorrect reference to share admission timeline being later than initially expected in first bullet and paragraph 5)

Company Background and Valuation

(Reuters) -Princes Group plans to raise 400 million pounds ($536.84 million) in its London IPO to fund expansion, the grocery supplier said, targeting a lower-than-anticipated valuation of up to 1.24 billion pounds in a sluggish UK IPO market.

Share Offering and Pricing

The Liverpool-based company owns Princes Tuna, Napolina Pasta and Naked Noodle - staples in UK supermarkets - and has become one of Europe's biggest grocery suppliers in recent decades through nearly two dozen acquisitions and mergers.

Market Context and Investor Sentiment

The 145-year-old group, owned by Italian food and drinks maker NewPrinces since May last year, said on Wednesday that it was aiming for a market valuation of 1.16 to 1.24 billion pounds, below the 1.5 billion pounds initially expected, as previously reported by Reuters.

The company plans to offer up to 84.2 million new shares priced between 475 and 590 pence, with NewPrinces intending to buy up to 200 million pounds worth of shares. NewPrinces shares dropped 10% on the Milan stock exchange following the announcement.

Princes Group shares are expected to trade on the London Stock Exchange on November 5, it said in a statement.

The debut will test investor appetite in the London stock market, which has lost mega deals including Unilever's ice cream business and fast-fashion retailer Shein and is headed for its lowest number of new flotations this year.

Princes Group joins Texas-based data centre company Fermi's $14.8 billion dual listing - the biggest this year - and alternative lender Shawbrook's potential $2.7 billion float.

($1 = 0.7451 pounds)

(Reporting by Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Muvija M)