IPO candidate Design Holding says 2021 sales up 21%

MILAN (Reuters) -High-end interior design group Design Holding, which is considering a possible market listing this year, said on Wednesday its revenues rose by 21% in 2021 as it expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of a Danish company.

Milan-based Design Holding, jointly controlled by private equity firms Carlyle Group and Investindustrial, owns brands such as B&B Italia, Flos and Louis Poulsen.

Last year it purchased U.S. e-commerce design lighting group YDesign and struck a joint venture with fashion house Fendi, owned by French luxury giant LVMH, to develop the brand's interior decor business Fendi Casa.

Pro-forma revenues in 2021 rose to just over 700 million euros ($742 million), while core earnings (EBITDA) were up 28% from a year earlier to 190 million euros, the group said in a statement shared with Reuters ahead of its official release.

Design Holding also announced the acquisition of Designers Company, a Danish furniture and lighting group that includes brands such as Menu and by Lassen, and has a strong presence in the northern European and U.S. markets.

The deal, for which the company did not disclose financial details, helps it strengthen its foothold in the Nordic design segment and woo younger customers.

Chief Executive Daniel Lalonde, a former LVMH senior executive who took the helm of Design Holding in October, said the group eyed further international expansion with a focus on Greater China and North America.

Separately, two sources close to the matter said the group had hired investment bank Lazard to work on a possible listing, with Bank of America, JPMorgan, UBS and UniCredit acting as global coordinators for the IPO.

The two sources said the company could raise roughly 1 billion euros in the listing, aiming for a market valuation of more than 4 billion euros. A spokesperson for Design Holding declined to comment. ($1 = 0.9438 euros)

(Reporting by Silvia Aloisi and Valentina Za, editing by Giulia Segreti)