Sunrise shares began trading on the SIX today. The opening price was 44.75 Swiss francs. This brings the company's market capitalization to around 3.29 billion francs.

Sunrise marks a return. The telecom provider was delisted in 2021 after its acquisition by Liberty Global.

This is one of the largest IPOs of the year for SIX. So far, only the U.S. company Lineage ($5.1 billion) and the Chinese Midea Group ($4.0 billion) had achieved higher valuations in their IPOs. In spring, the cosmetics company Galderma was launched on the SIX with a market capitalization of just under 2.3 billion francs.

Growth and Dividends

«As of today, Sunrise is returning to SIX Swiss Exchange as an independent company,» says Sunrise CEO André Krause. «I believe that Sunrise is better and stronger than ever before.» The company can build on its strong position as number two in the attractive Swiss telecoms market and Sunrise shares represent a compelling investment opportunity. «Sunrise is focused on growth and returns on capital, and we expect an attractive, progressive dividend policy,» the CEO added.

Spin-off from Liberty

However, Sunrise is not an IPO in the traditional sense with the issue of new shares. The spin-off from Liberty took place via the issue of American Depositary Shares (ADS) to its shareholders, which can be traded on the Nasdaq and exchanged for Sunrise shares. For five Liberty Global shares, shareholders recieved one A share in Sunrise.

Only these are traded on the SIX. There are also Class B shares with ten times the voting power. Liberty bosses John Malone and Mike Fries will continue to hold around a quarter of the Swiss company.

The total number of Sunrise shares amounts to around 68.76 million class A und shares and around 25.99 million class B shares.

The high for the day so far is 46.97 francs and Sunrise is currently (11 a.m.) trading at 45.16 francs.