Fidelis shares close down

Fidelis Insurance Holdings saw its shares fall 6.4% on the first day of trading after an initial public offering which was priced below its expected range.

Fidelis shares closed at $12.90 per share yesterday, compared to its offer price of $14 apiece. Its prospectus said it expected the shares to be priced at between $16 and $19. They opened at $13.10.

According to Reuters, the IPO valued the company at $1.5 billion.

The company joins a list of firms that have gone public this year as the IPO market gains momentum following a stormy 2022 that forced many private companies to halt their listing plans.

Along with some of its shareholders, the Bermuda-based company sold 15 million shares at $14 apiece to raise $210 million in its IPO, with $100 million going to the company.

"Raising money now in the primary (market) is very important to us, enables us to take further opportunity in a very dislocated market," said Fidelis Insurance CEO Dan Burrows (pictured).

Fidelis founder Ricard Brindle, who now leads spin-off Fidelis MGU, congratulated Fidelis on the IPO, saying: “It has been an incredible year for the Fidelis brand culminating now with the listing of Fidelis Insurance Group on the NYSE.

“I applaud my long-time friend and colleague, Dan Burrows, and his highly talented team in their incredible achievement, and I look forward to many years of close collaboration with some of the best capital and risk managers in the industry at Fidelis Insurance Group.”