The listing valued the company with an opening market capitalization of 82.7m euros ($102.5m) at 3.85 euros ($4.77) per share, a price that jumped to 4.09 euros ($5.06) by 3pm on Friday. The secondary listing is aimed at raising LB Icon’s profile with investors in western Europe, where the company generates most of its revenue and is planning to raise funds for future expansion.
The main benefit of Euronext is that it is in the middle of our biggest markets, Germany, UK, and Benelux, chief operating officer Theo Cordesies told ComputerWire. Although the company no longer trades in Sweden, Cordesies said LB Icon has no plans to de-list from the Stockholm Exchange, where it claims 18,000 shareholders.
Cordesies said that LB Icon, which changed its name in June 2004 from Icon Medialab International, would now look to raise funds as opportunities arise in order to pay for future acquisitions. Since the company’s lowest point in May 2002, when its Swedish division filed for bankruptcy, the company has acquired three small European consultancies to expand its technical expertise.
In April the company acquired UK based Melstar, following the purchase of Belgian company Winsome. Both businesses provided document management and workflow solutions. In July 2003, the company acquired Dutch CRM consultancy Escador.
