Burford Capital files for Wall Street listing
By Abigail Townsend
Date: Tuesday 07 Jul 2020
(Sharecast News) - Burford Capital has begun the formal process of seeking a US listing, the litigation finance firm confirmed on Tuesday.
Aim-listed Burford said it had filed a confidential registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and that the regulator would now review its application.
Burford said the review was of "indeterminate length" but added it was commonly a "multi-month undertaking". While the review is underway, Burford is unable to comment on the process and does not expect to update the market on trading during the summer. Its interim results, for the six months to 30 June 2020, will also not be released until September.
The firm is looking to list as a foreign private issuer, thereby allowing it to file accounts under International Financial Reporting Standards rather the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, which require quarterly updates. It is not intending to list new shares in conjunction with the proposed US listing.
Over the last year, Burford has faced criticism for its approach to corporate governance. With a market value of around £1.1bn, it is one of Aim's biggest companies; Aim was designed for small and fledgling businesses, and has less stringent disclosure requirements than the main market.
However, Burford believes that seeking a dual listing in the US makes more sense than switching its UK listing.
When it first announced plans to list on Wall Street it 2019, it said: "We believe that the deep liquidity in those markets, as well as the opportunity to access a broad pool of US investors who do not today invest in litigation finance but are generally familiar with US litigation, makes a US listing commercially attractive as an alternative to moving Burford's current listing to the LSE main market."
It has also shaken up management, naming Aviva Will and David Perla co-chief operating officers in January.
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