According to Wouter van de Putte, IR director at Ziggo, a successful IPO is all about ‘preparation, preparation and again preparation’. Dutch cable company Ziggo went public on NYSE Euronext Amsterdam in March 2012, rising 15 percent on the first day of public trading and raising €804 mn ($1.1 bn) for the firm.
The IPO saw shareholders sell 43.5 mn shares at €18.50 – the top of Ziggo’s price range – with shares rising by as much as €3.45 before retreating slightly to close at €21.25. Following Ziggo’s IPO, the company revealed plans to pay €220 mn in dividends in a bid to attract new investors.
Just over a year later, with Ziggo having won the award for best investor relations for an IPO at the IR Magazine Awards – Europe 2013, van de Putte knows what makes for a successful offering: preparing your investor story, targeting the right investors and being as transparent as possible.
