AutoStore, a Norway-based warehouse automation technology provider backed by internet and telecommunications group SoftBank, has filed to raise up to NOK15.5bn ($1.8bn) in an initial public offering.
Shares will be offered on the Oslo Stock Exchange at between NOK27.00 and NOK31.00 ($3.16-$3.63) each, valuing AutoStore at up to $12bn.
The offering is set to take place on October 20 and will involve the company issuing about $315m in new shares while existing shareholders will divest up to $1.5bn.
Founded in 1996, AutoStore produces warehousing robots that pile goods in Rubik cube-shaped shelves in a bid to save storage space. Its 20,000 robots have been deployed at more than 600 installations across some 40 countries.
SoftBank had paid $2.8bn to acquire a 40% in AutoStore in April this year from private equity firms Thomas H Lee Partners and EQT, valuing the company at $7.7bn. Thomas H Lee Partners remained the majority shareholder after the deal.
Carnegie AS, JP Morgan AG and Morgan Stanley International are joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the offering, joining joint underwriters ABG Sundal Collier ASA, Citigroup Global Markets and Jefferies and co-lead managers Mizuho Securities Europe and SpareBank 1 Markets, while Moelis & Company UK is financial adviser for the IPO.
