- Carlyle Group LP is reportedly planning a U.S. listing for London-based minicab company Addison Lee
Carlyle Group LP is reportedly planning to pursue a U.S. listing for Addison Lee after attempting to sell the London minicab company, according to Bloomberg’s sources. Carlyle would essentially sell Addison Lee into a special purpose acquisition company — which would float in an IPO in order to raise funds for a deal. And then Addison Lee would take on a public listing on Wall Street once the takeover is completed.
Investment banks Jefferies Financial Group and Cowen are reportedly working on the potential IPO said Bloomberg’s sources. The discussions are currently in the early stages and nothing is finalized yet. And Carlyle may still keep Addison Lee private for a longer period of time or sell it instead of pursuing the listing.
Carlyle acquired Addison Lee for a rumored price of £300 million including debt back in 2013. But the company has been dealing with tremendous competition from Uber and some smaller players.
Earlier this year, Addison Lee reported £390.3 million in revenue for 2018, up from £345.7 million in 2017. And the company’s gross profit was £109.3 million in 2018 compared to £100.9 million in 2017.
Addison Lee points out that its prices stay the same when you book without any surge charges at peak times. And it facilitates bookings up to 3 months in advance. The average time to pick up on-demand in Central London is just 10 minutes and over 98% of bookings arrive on time.
