BDB Pitmans advise on £48.1million AIM listing for Sondrel (Holdings) Plc on IPO

BDB Pitmans has advised Sondrel (Holdings) Plc on its successful admission to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and associated fundraising. At its admission on 21 October 2022, the market capitalisation of the company was £48.1m. Admission was accompanied by a successful placing which raised £20 million for the company.

In addition to helping Sondrel (Holdings) Plc and its subsidiaries (together Sondrel) (grow Sondrel’s  geographic reach, the funds raised will go in to talent acquisition, enabling Sondrel  to hire more engineers while boosting its research and development programme, and will also be used to increase marketing in the USA and Asia to accelerate sales of Sondrel’s services.

Founded in 2002, Sondrel is a leading global semiconductor designer and supplier delivering customised, ultra-complex, digital ASIC (application-specific integrated circuits) chip solutions. Sondrel’s team of expert engineers deliver a concept-to-silicon design service to technology companies worldwide and offer clients a turnkey ASIC service.  Sondrel  has 5 design centres across the globe in the UK  China, India and Morocco as well as sales and technical support operations in California, United States.

Sondrel’s designs have appeared in many leading-edge products including market leaders in mobile phones, cameras, security systems and AR/VR systems  and enabled products by leading technology brands including Apple (iPhone), Sony (PlayStation), Meta (Oculus Quest virtual reality headset), Samsung, Google and Sony smartphones, JVC (prosumer camcorders), and Tesla and Mercedes-Benz cars.

BDB Pitmans’ team was led by corporate partner Oliver Pilkington with assistance from corporate colleagues Daniela Munro and Zoe Symes. Other expert support was drawn from across the firm, including from Brian Gegg and Asten Hawkes (employment), Bhaminee Sharma and Robyn Rumble (property) and Dennis Lee and Ludovico Lugnani (commercial). Further advice came from Cenkos Securities (nominated advisor and broker), Grant Thornton UK LLP (reporting accountant), One Advisory (secretarial advisor) and Buchanan (financial public relations).

Sondrel chief executive Graham Curren commented: “Sondrel is at the cutting edge of the UK tech sector, boasting unrivalled market-leading engineering expertise. As demand for our highly complex ASIC chip solutions continues to grow, the IPO will provide us with the chance to raise the group’s profile as a deliverer of complex ASICs/SOCs, increase the number of engineers we employ and accelerate growth in the USA and beyond.

Separately I would like to thank BDB Pitmans for all their efforts on this highly complex transaction. This is not the first time we have been impressed by the talent and collaborative efforts across the firm but given the intricacy of the deal, the level of experience on hand made all the difference.’

Partner Oliver Pilkington concluded: ‘We are delighted to have advised returning client Sondrel on its admission to AIM, helping it to raise crucial funds to grow its talent base and expand its global operations. IPOs are complex by nature but the breadth and depth of BDB Pitmans’ in-house expertise enabled us to bring this transaction to a close swiftly and smoothly in a challenging market.’