Marex’s U.S. Listing Plan Adds Pressure to U.K. Bourses

On December 8, Marex Group filed confidential paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), seeking to list its shares in the American stock market. Marex is a U.K.-based financial services platform providing commodities brokerage services. The news comes as a blow to U.K. bourses, as more companies are opting for non-U.K. listings. In particular, Marex earlier shunned its plan of listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2021.

Marex Opts for U.S. Listing

Marex is held by JRJ Group, a private equity company. It is a member of the coveted London Metal Exchange. Marex’s decision to file for an initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S. instead of its home, the U.K., reveals the diminishing attractiveness of the stock market in Britain. The broker’s current valuation is roughly thrice its worth in its 2021 listing plans. Back then, Marex was looking at a £500 million valuation, while this time, it is looking at roughly £2.2 billion.

Notably, Marex has tried to catapult toward the U.S. markets since last year. In 2022, it acquired broker ED&F Man Capital Markets, thus expanding its operations in the U.S. In the first half of 2023, Marex reported profit before tax of $120 million on revenues of $1.2 billion.

More and more companies are preferring to list their shares in the U.S. as the American bourses offer more liquidity, a larger shareholder base, and higher executive pay packages. Of interest is British chip designer Arm Ltd.’s (NASDAQ:ARM) recent listing on the NASDAQ. What’s worse, companies listed in London are mulling to abandon their listing and shift to New York. 2023 has been a rather dull year for deal-making, new listings, and overall capital markets activity. Investors are surely hoping that with the inflation coming under check across several nations, 2024 could be a better year for the stock markets.

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