Plus500 looks at US share listing to boost valuation
UK news source The Times is reporting that management at Israel based, London Stock Exchange listed Retail FX and CFDs broker Plus500 (LON:PLUS) is looking at listing the company’s shares in the US, as an alternative to its current LSE listing.
Apparently Plus500 management have become frustrated with the company’s valuation, with investors treating it in the UK like a slow-growth financial concern as opposed to a fintech company. The UK’s listing rules have also been criticized by market observers as being too complicated and onerous, although UK regulator The FCA released plans to reform and streamline listing rules for publicly traded companies just last week.
At its current share price of £15.68, Plus500 has a current market cap of £1.425 billion (USD $1.8 billion). That works out to a multiple of 2.2x 2022 Revenue (USD $832.6 million) and 4.9x 2022 Profit ($370.4 million). Looking ahead at Plus500 2023e consensus results, Plus500 is trading at 3.0x Revenue and 8.1x Profit.
On the operating front, Plus500 has been shifting much of its focus away from the UK/Europe and into new markets including APAC and the US. Last year Plus500 let lapse its eight-year sponsorship of Atletico Madrid, using some of those sponsorship dollars on a new sponsorship agreement with NBA club Chicago Bulls.
At around the same time the Atletico Madrid sponsorship was discontinued, Plus500 announced (in its 1H-2022 results release) plans to expand its business in the US. The company said that it had developed, and expected to launch in H2 2022, a new trading platform for the substantial retail futures market in the US, to capitalise on recent initiatives and product launches which were originated by the various exchanges operating in the US futures market to increase market accessibility to the applicable retail audience.
Having a US share listing would also certainly increase awareness of Plus500 among the retail trading audience in the US.
We will continue to follow this story as it develops.