Leading Forex broker AvaTrade is reportedly eyeing a £700 million valuation for its upcoming IPO on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), according to Sky News. AvaTrade has chosen investment banks JPMorgan and Jeffries to lead the IPO, which may be valued between £500 million and £700 million.
Anonymous sources report that while the Dublin-based brokerage firm is looking to launch its offering within the upcoming months, the precise timing and valuation will be subject to market conditions and developments.
AvaTrade has the option of applying for a listing on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), a sub-market of the LSE which is more geared to smaller firms. AIM is intended to make it easier for those companies to obtain access to capital from the public market, and thus provides a more moderate regulatory environment than the LSE proper.
The IPO would enable AvaTrade to take its place among the largest public UK brokerage houses, such as Plus500, CMC Markets and IG Group.
The valuation in itself speaks volumes about the broker and its success in the retail trading market. In 2015, the company received an offer from Israeli gambling software giant Playtech for $105 million, which means that with a current valuation of £700 million, AvaTrade's value has grown over six times in as many years.
Followers of the online trading platform are unsurprised at its rapid growth in value. AvaTrade made waves in the industry when it capitalized on the market volatility caused by COVID-19 and grew its base to 300,000 traders across 150 countries.
But market conditions are not what have earned the Irish broker such widespread acclaim. Forex traders have been known to explain AvaTrade's popularity by citing its wide range of assets, including CFDs, cryptocurrencies, stocks, bonds, commodities and ETFs, in addition to over 50 Forex currency pairs. Traders also benefit from the trading platform's other offerings such as automated trading, social trading and copy trading, and the choice between the MT4 and MT5 platforms. The company also offers Forex options products, an unusual offering.
AvaTrade, which was one of the pioneers in the retail Forex and CFD space, has positioned itself as one of the most trusted names in the industry, helped by its strong licensure. The broker is regulated by various entities across six jurisdictions, most notably the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).