Boku announces IPO on London’s AIM

Boku Inc, the world’s leading independent direct carrier billing company, and a TempoCap portfolio company, had its shares admitted to the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange on Monday, entering with a market capitalisation of £125 million.

The Placing raised £45 million and consisted of (i) a placing of 25,423,728 million new Shares, to raise gross proceeds of £15 million for the Company; and (ii) the placing of 50,847,458 million existing Shares, to raise gross proceeds of £30 million for selling shareholders, all at a placing price of 59 pence per share.

The Placing, which was significantly oversubscribed, saw strong demand from a wide range of institutional investors.

The £15 million proceeds, before expenses, from the issue of new Shares will be used by the Company for working capital purposes and investment in growth opportunities, including new product development.

“The AIM admission today is a significant milestone for Boku and strongly positions the company to accelerate its growth plans. We are delighted with the backing shown by a wide number of quality institutional investors and thank them for their support,” said Chief Executive Jon Prideaux.

“Boku is very well positioned in the direct carrier billing market, and there are significant opportunities for growth which we intend to capitalise on. We very much look forward to life as a public company and to updating the market on our continued progress in the months and years ahead,” he added.

Earlier this month, Boku said it was seeking a London listing to simplify its capital structure and provide access to new sources of funds, which will be used to strengthen its new product development capabilities and optimise its working capital position for the long-term benefit of the business and its customers.

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, US, Boku is a provider of direct carrier billing services, which allow consumers to pay for products and services using their mobile phone, with charges going on their phone bill. Boku’s platform allows merchants to connect directly to the billing identity and sales systems of mobile network operators to properly monitor their user base.

Products bought and sold through this platform include streamed music, mobile applications, and games. Boku mainly operates in the UK, US, Germany and India.