UK spreadbetting firm CMC Markets valued at $1 billion in IPO

LONDON (Reuters) - British financial spreadbetting firm CMC Markets has priced its London stock market listing at 240 pence a share, it said on Friday. The price would value the company, run by Chief Executive Peter Cruddas, at 691 million pounds. "Our performance since the start of 2016 continues to be strong, helped by the ongoing market volatility, and we start our life as a public company well-positioned for continued growth," Cruddas, who favours Britain leaving the European Union, said in a statement. The offering of 31 percent, or 90.6 million shares, totals around 218 million pounds. The deal includes a primary capital raise of around 15 million pounds, and a 203 million pound sale of secondary shares by some of CMC's existing shareholders, including Peter and Fiona Cruddas and Goldman Sachs Strategic Investments. After listing, Peter and Fiona Cruddas will hold 62.5 percent of the firm's ordinary shares, and Goldman Sachs Strategic Investments will hold five percent, CMC said. Trading will begin on Friday. Amid choppy markets, the pricing comes in at the lower end of the original range of 235-275 pence a share. Investors were told orders below 240 pence were likely to miss out, a bookrunner told Reuters on Thursday. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn, editing by Sinead Cruise)