MARKETS
TVC lists on IEX, raises EUR50m
11-07-2007
by Ciara O'Brien
Irish company TVC Holdings has begun trading on the IEX, the Irish Stock Exchange's specialist market for small to medium-sized firms.
The firm, which owns Trinity Venture Capital, was listed on Wednesday on both the IEX and London's AIM market, raising EUR50 million after it placed more than 33 million shares at EUR1.50 per ordinary share. The placing gives the firm a market capitalisation of about EUR152 million.
According to TVC Holdings, the funds will help finance further development of its company portfolio and fund new investments, particularly those that are likely to be a success on the international market.
The firm has been active since it was established in 1997. Current investments include telecoms software firm Aepona, tech firm Norkom, ChangingWorlds, CR2, Havok and the TAS Group. It has also been active in the medical device market, with Nova Science also in its portfolio, while it has expanded to include former Queen's University spinoff Audio Processing Technologies (APT) and IP firm Shenick Network Systems, among others.
Trinity Venture Capital has also previously backed Dublin-based location software firm Mapflow, an investment that was recently bought out by US venture capital company SOSVenture.
Interest in the IEX has been gathering pace in recent months. When it began in 2005, the IEX started off with eight firms, including construction firm Abbey, recruitment firm CPL and e-learning specialist Thirdforce. Recently, however, firms such as Andor Technology, First Derivative, Norkom and Zamano have all taken listings on the Irish market, which adopts similar admission rules to those of the successful AIM market.
Firms wishing to list on the IEX do not need to have a trading record, and the only admission criteria is the requirement that applicants have a minimum market capitalisation of EUR5 million.
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