Yahoo Finance Buyout Firm CVC Sets Price Range for €1.6 Billion Dutch IPO
(Bloomberg) -- CVC Capital Partners and some of its investors are seeking to raise €1.6 billion ($1.7 billion) in an initial public offering in Amsterdam, as the buyout firm moves ahead with its long-delayed listing plans.
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The company and the investors are offering 114 million shares for €13 to €15 each, according to a statement on Monday. That gives the company an implied market value of €13 billion to €15 billion.
CVC is issuing 18 million new shares, while existing investors will sell 96 million shares. Shareholders that are selling in the IPO include Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte, Kuwait Investment Authority, a wealth fund run by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and certain management shareholders.
The company has gathered demand in excess of full deal size, throughout the price range, within minutes of the IPO book being opened, according to terms seen by Bloomberg News. CVC stock is set to start trading in Amsterdam on April 26.
CVC has been working on a listing since at least 2022, with previous attempts buffeted by volatile markets. One of Europe’s best-known buyout firms, CVC manages about €186 billion of assets and owns stakes in companies including Swiss watchmaker Breitling and Lipton Teas and Infusions, according to its website.
Blue Owl Capital Inc. plans to invest in as much as 10% of the offering, according to the earlier statement, increasing its stake. A listing of CVC will test investor sentiment toward alternative asset managers at a key moment for the industry.
None of the firm’s active employees are selling in the IPO, CVC said in an earlier statement.
IPO Rebound
The offering will also mark a revival for listings in Amsterdam, which lost its position as one of Europe’s busiest listing venues after a blowout year in 2021.
A rebound in European IPOs is also underway, though investors are keeping an eye on trading. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index marked its third consecutive weekly drop last week amid concerns over the US Federal Reserve potentially keeping rates higher for longer and tensions in the Middle East.
Some $6.2 billion in IPOs have started trading so far in 2024, even before CVC’s trading debut — that’s more than the amount raised during the entire first-half of 2023, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
While investor appetite for listings is improving globally, the rebound in Europe has been uneven. Galderma Group AG, a skin-care company backed by CVC’s private equity rival EQT AB, has soared above its offer price, and Spanish beauty and fragrance group Puig Brands SA is set to raise around €2.6 billion in an offering. CVC-backed German perfume retailer Douglas AG suffered a more disappointing stock market debut, however.
CVC plans to use IPO proceeds to fuel growth, including scaling the next generation of its funds, pursuing acquisitions and funding a part of the price tag for its acquisition of a majority stake in DIF Capital Partners, announced in September.
The joint global coordinators of the offering are Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley.
--With assistance from Alexandra Muller.
(Adds detail on demand in fourth paragraph, context throughout)
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