ZURICH (Reuters) – Shares in Swiss Marketplace Group (SMG) jumped more than 7% after listing on the SIX Swiss Exchange on Friday, driving the stock significantly higher than its initial valuation.
The online advertising company had priced shares for its initial public offering at 46 Swiss francs each, the top of a previously announced range of 43-46 francs, valuing it at 4.5 billion Swiss francs ($5.68 billion).
The shares opened at 48.25 francs and by 0710 GMT were up 7.6% at 49.50 francs.
SMG’s online property portal is the largest of its kind in Switzerland, operating websites including Immoscout24 and car platform Autoscout24. Its IPO attracted Swiss and international investors, with the offering oversubscribed several times over.
Equity capital markets advisers have predicted that Zurich and Frankfurt will lead an upturn in IPO activity after a slowdown linked to uncertainty surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
SMG is backed by Swiss media business TX Group, which owns a 30.7% stake, as well as private equity firm General Atlantic, which holds an undisclosed minority stake.
($1 = 0.7929 Swiss francs)
(Writing by Miranda Murray and Anastasiia Kozlova; Editing by Jamie Freed, Janane Venkatraman and David Goodman)
