Financial News: UBS Records Best Buyout Flotation Performance

Flotations of private equity-backed companies by UBS AG (UBS) have deliveredthe best aftermarket performance since the start of last year, according to aFinancial News survey.

The survey, which began in January last year, examined the average share priceincrease from listing to July 23 for each bank's sponsor-backed flotations,based on data provided by Dealogic. The results were weighted to take account ofthe size of each flotation, with the larger deals carrying greater weighting.The Swiss bank ran 12 initial public offerings, generating the highest averageincrease at 64.7%, more than double that of the second-placed bank.

The findings, part of an investigation into the aftermarket performance ofprivate equity-backed listings by Financial News' sister publication PrivateEquity News, showed the choice of bookrunner affected the post-IPO performanceof a company, with variation between top and bottom banks of 70 percentagepoints.

Morgan Stanley (MS) was in second place, delivering an average return of 31.3%, managing the largest number of IPOs for financial sponsors - 14 since thestart of last year.

John Sinik and Christian Hess, co-heads of the UBS European financial sponsorsgroup, said factors behind the strong performance included a prudent approach tochoosing mandates and committing to the company in the long term, after thelisting.

Web site: http://www.efinancialnews.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires 07-29-07 2016ET Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.