Calnex, Linlithgow telecoms firm, plans £42m IPO

Calnex CEO Tommy Cook

Linlithgow-based telecoms firm Calnex Solutions plc said on Monday it is aiming to raise £22.5 million through a London initial public offering (IPO).

Calnex said the AIM listing, planned for October 5, will value the company at £42 million.

The Linlithgow firm said the initial listing will raise £6 million for the company and £16.5 million for existing shareholders.

Calnex designs, produces and markets “test instrumentation and solutions for network synchronization and network emulation, enabling its customers to validate the performance of the critical infrastructure associated with the telecoms networks.”

Its customers include BT, China Mobile, NTT, Ericsson, Nokia, Intel, Qualcomm, IBM and Facebook.

Calnex founder and CEO Tommy Cook said: “We are delighted to announce our proposed placing and admission to AIM, to support the evolution of Calnex.

“The telecommunications industry is going through unprecedented levels of change, presenting exciting opportunities for the expansion of the business.

“Having demonstrated sustained growth since inception, the move onto the public markets will provide us with new capital, a raised profile and enhanced ability to execute on acquisitions, as we seek to capture an increased share of the growing market for telecoms test solutions.

“We would like to thank our existing shareholders for their ongoing support and welcome our new shareholders at this exciting time for the company.”

Heart of Midlothian Football Club chair Ann Budge is a non-executive director of Calnex and George Elliott, former chairman of Craneware, is chairman of the Calnex.

In a stock exchange statement, the company said: “Calnex, an established provider of test and measurement solutions for the global telecommunications sector, is delighted to announce its proposed admission to trading on AIM and placing, conditional on admission, of 46,875,000 new and existing ordinary shares of 0.125 pence each, at a price of 48.0 pence per share.

“The placing was significantly oversubscribed, having received strong support from institutional investors, and will raise a total of £22.5 million (before expenses), comprising £6.0 million for the company and £16.5 million for existing shareholders.

“Cenkos Securities plc is acting as nominated advisor and broker to the company.

“Admission and commencement of dealings on AIM are expected to take place at 8am on 5 October 2020, under the ticker CLX.

“Based on the placing price, the market capitalisation of the company will be £42.0 million on admission.  

“On admission, the company will have 87,500,000 ordinary shares in issue and a free float of approximately 43 per cent.

“The funds raised through the placing, along with the company’s existing cash resources, will allow Calnex to invest in business development and R&D resource, repay its existing debt facility and evaluate opportunities to acquire complementary technologies or businesses to expedite the company’s growth.”