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| - Moonpig, the online greeting cards group that has seen sales surge during pandemic lockdowns, debuted Tuesday on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £1.2 billion ($1.64 billion, 1.36 billion euros). It quickly shot above the valuation level as its offer price of 350 pence per share reached 440 pence at the start of trading reserved for institutional investors. Full trading begins on Friday. Moonpig, bought in 2016 by British private equity group Exponent, has floated 41 percent of the business. "Listing on the London Stock Exchange is an incredibly special milestone and will provide new opportunities for the business," Moonpig chief executive Nickyl Raithatha said in a statement. "As the leaders of a market undergoing an accelerating shift to online, now is the perfect time for us to bring the company to the public market, and we are excited about Moonpig's prospects." It comes after British footwear group Dr Martens on Friday entered the London Stock Exchange, also after recording a boom in internet sales. Clarity over Britain's final departure from the European Union on January 1 has meanwhile acted as a catalyst for many companies to raise funds, notably those with a strong online presence. British app-driven meals delivery service Deliveroo is planning to list later this year. "We can expect more announcements like this from UK companies this year as we see UK Tech come into its own, which has particular importance in a post-Brexit world," Stephen Kelly, chair of consultants Tech Nation, said in a statement Tuesday. bcp/rfj/wai
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