Indivior planning to move primary listing to US, shares surge

Indivior surged on Thursday after the opioid addiction treatment maker said it was planning to move its primary listing to the US.

Indivior said it was initiating consultations with shareholders on potentially shifting to a primary listing in the US this year, while maintaining a secondary listing in the UK.

The company said a US listing could be beneficial as it would "reflect the group's current and future growth opportunities for its proprietary treatments" - Sublocade, Perseries and Opvee - which are centred in the US.

In addition, it would attract more US investors and analysts and allow for inclusion in major US indices over time.

Indivior also pointed to the fact that a growing proportion of its share capital is owned by US-based investors.

News of the potential move came alongside 2023 results, which showed that operating losses narrowed to $4m from $85m a year earlier, while total net revenue rose 21% to $1.1bn.

At 0900 GMT, the shares were up 18.1% at 1,601p.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Indivior is currently the forty-seventh largest company on the FTSE 250 index. One would expect it to receive a higher valuation on the US market and that’s a key reason why many companies switch listing location.

"The company has nearly half of its shares owned by US investors and the US is one of its major sales regions so there is logic in having a US stock listing. However, it would be yet another blow to the reputation of the London Stock Exchange as a listing venue. The more companies that follow this path, the harder it will be to attract new names to the UK."