UPDATE 1-Gjensidige further narrows IPO price to middle

Published 12/08/2010, 08:27 AM
Updated 12/08/2010, 08:28 AM

* Narrows price range second time, to 58-60 crowns

* Earlier range was 56-62 crowns and initial range was 54-64

* Says full offering oversubscribed throughout new range

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OSLO, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Mutually owned insurer Gjensidige further narrowed the price range for its initial public offering on Wednesday to between 58 and 60 crowns, and added that the full offering was oversubscribed throughout the new range.

If all Gjensidige's shares are sold, the IPO could raise as much as 12 billion Norwegian crowns ($2 billion) in what looks set to be Norway's largest offering since 2001.

The Gjensidige IPO and a concurrent $2 billion share sale by Denmark's TDC telecoms firm highlight recovering Scandinavian economies and share valuations. Investor interest in IPOs has picked up worldwide in the second half of 2010, though euro-zone debt troubles have tempered optimism.

The company as a whole would be valued at between 29 billion and 30 billion crowns.

Gjensidige did not specify how many shares it would float, but has said 25 to 40 percent of the company's 500 million shares would be offered -- that is, between 125 million and 200 million shares.

All of Gjensidige's 500 million shares are now owned by the Gjensidige Foundation.

A company spokesman said information about the size of the share sale and the exact prize would be made public either late on Thursday or early on Friday.

Bookbuilding for the IPO closes on Thursday, and the company expects to begin trading on the Oslo Stock Exchange on Friday.

Some analysts see the Gjensidige IPO as a way for the firm to pursue mergers and acquisitions, perhaps including a tie-up with Norwegian life insurer Storebrand. Gjensidige is already Storebrand's largest shareholder, with a strategic 24.3-percent stake.

Separately, sources told Reuters on Wednesday that Denmark's TDC is most likely to be priced at 51 crowns per share, the middle of its original range. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Will Waterman) ($1=6.032 Norwegian Crown)

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