Britain's biggest spread-betting firm IG Group yesterday said its outgoing chief executive, other senior officials and staff sold about 20 million shares or a 6.1 per cent stake in the company.
The placing, valued at about £42 million, was priced at 210 pence per share by UBS, the sole book runner to the issue.
"Shares representing 49.8 per cent of the total IG Group shares to be placed are being sold by Nat le Roux," the company said in a statement.
Le Roux, who said in late May he was stepping down as chief executive, has stayed on as non-executive deputy chairman and works as an IG consultant one day per week.
He ran IG as a private company for two years before a relisting at 120 pence per share in April 2005, having taken part in a £143 million management buyout backed by private equity firm CVC.
IG also said its finance director and chief executive designate Tim Howkins was selling 1.5 million shares or 39.3 per cent of the shares available for him to sell. On Monday, shares in IG rallied 6.4 per cent afer the company reported a 51 per cent rise in core profit to £52.6 million in the year to end-May and said a return of cash to shareholders was becoming more likely.
Merrill Lynch said in a report yesterday that IG's results came ahead of the investment bank's estimates and raised its 2007 and 2008 earnings forecasts for the company by three per cent and four per cent for each year respectively.
