Blackhawk IPO Could Fetch Up to $220 Million (April 8, 2013)
Ahead of its planned IPO, Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. has set a stock price of $20 to $22 per share, numbers that could lead to the prepaid card provider and third-party distributor raising up to $220 million. Grocery chain Safeway Inc., which owns 96 percent of Blackhawk, revealed plans last year to sell a stake in Blackhawk on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, while retaining a majority ownership interest in the company. Safeway said in an SEC filing it will offer 10 million Class A shares of Blackhawk in the IPO, which is scheduled for some time during the first half of this year, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank Securities acting as lead underwriters for the offering.
Safeway’s decision to take Blackhawk public could spur competitors to consider public offerings of their own. In September, Blackhawk’s largest competitor, InComm, landed a minority investment of an undisclosed sum from private equity firm Warburg Pincus. But going public also will require the traditionally quiet Blackhawk to disclose details of its agreements with retail and financial services partners, which could help its competitors, analysts note. Blackhawk reported adjusted net income of $50.3 million on $949 million in total revenue in 2012.
