Boohoo fixes price for IPO

Online British fashion retailer Boohoo.com has set the share price for its upcoming initial public offering at 50

pence a share. The company is set to float 6 hundred million shares on London' s Alternative market (AIM) 8 a.m on March 14, with a market capitalization of 560 million pounds.

The Manchester-based online retailer said it was raising roughly 300 million pounds and plans to use 240 million pounds to pay back convertible loan notes, which are currently held by the company's existing shareholders.

In a statement released on Friday, the company added its plans to use 50 million pounds to speed up its current expansion phase and “enhance its working capital”.

Mahmud Kamani, co-CEO of Boohoo, commented: “The placing and admission to AIM marks a significant step for Boohoo as we invest in this exciting growth opportunity, underpinned by the rapidly growing online retail market.”

Carol Kane, the other co-CEO of Boohoo then added: “We are confident that our competitive position and growing customer base means we are well-placed to capitalize on the fast-growing online fashion retail market.”

After the listing, joint CEO Kamani, whose family are the majority shareholders, will hold 24.5 percent of shares, while his family's holding will drop to 38.5 percent from 82 percent, according to Reuters. The other joint CEO Kane will see her holding fall to 4.6 percent from 9.8 percent.

Boohoo.com previously reported for the 10 months to December, sales rose 70 percent to 91.9 million pounds, with adjusted EBITDA grew to 10.1 million pounds compared to 3.5 million pounds for the same period last year.