UK firm defies telecoms downturn
SENDO, Britain's only mobile phone manufacturer, is defying the recent slump in telecoms equipment by pressing ahead with plans for a stock market flotation this year.
However, negative investor sentiment towards handset manufacturers and the moribund state of the new issues market mean that the Birmingham-based company is unlikely to fetch anywhere near the £700m price tag it is believed to be demanding.
Sendo, whose customers include Virgin Mobile, is believed to be looking to list on the London Stock Exchange in the fourth quarter.
A 'beauty parade' of potential financial advisers has already begun - hiring an investment bank is an essential prelude to any float - though no appointment has been made yet. Sendo is also looking for an in-house investor relations executive to liaise with the City.
Sendo spokeswoman Marijke van Hooren said: 'We have been courted by a number of banks in the past couple of months.'
She added that any fund-raising would finance research and development, expand salesandmarketing operations overseas and increase brand awareness, though no decision to float had yet been taken.
Sendo, founded in 1999 by three former Philips executives, aims to be a niche player in an industry dominated by the likes of Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson.
No financial data are available, but Sendo hopes to sell up to four million mobiles within 18 months, grabbing the equivalent of about one% of the global handset market. The phones are designed in Birmingham, manufacturing is in China and the Netherlands acts as a distribution hub.
Virgin Mobile was the first UK network operator to stock Sendo phones, which sell for about £70 and offer games and cartoons popular with younger users.
The company has a close relationship with Microsoft, which is developing its own smartphone operating system called Stinger to challenge the rival platform for next-generation mobile phones being developed by the Symbian consortium.
Last year Microsoft paid an estimated $12m for a five% stake in Sendo, valuing it at more than $200m.
