(News Bulletin 247) – The perfume distributor Douglas, owned by the CVC investment fund, plans to list on the Frankfurt stock exchange by the end of March.
Stock market Europe, the new promised land of the cosmetics sector? Last September, the American cosmetics giant Coty favored the Paris Stock Exchange for a double listing, the group having already been present on Wall Street since 2013.
In the coming weeks, the European stock market will also be boosted by the IPO of another company in the cosmetics sector. This is the German perfumery and cosmetics group Douglas which announced on Monday its wish to list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by the end of March.
To be more precise, it is a return to the stock market of the Douglas company. The company was delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2013, after being bought by the Advent investment fund and the Kreke family. Then in 2015, the specialized distributor fell into the hands of the CVC Capital Partners fund which is also preparing to go public in 2024.
A long-standing project
The latter therefore judges the moment to be opportune to put the German parent company of the French brand Nocibe on the stock market. It must be said that this project is not new since in February 2020 Reuters had already indicated that CVC was exploring this avenue for the Douglas brand, then Bloomberg last August. .
Douglas intends to raise a total of 1.1 billion euros during this IPO which will include an additional injection of equity capital of around 300 million euros from current shareholders, including CVC Capital Partners.
Based on enterprise value, Douglas is valued at between 5.5 billion and 6.5 billion euros, including debt, with about 20% shares in free float, sources told Reuters.
Second IPO in Frankfurt
With the proceeds of the operation, the company plans to reduce its debt. The Douglas group’s net debt to EBITDA (gross operating income) ratio amounts to 4x at the end of December 2023, the company indicated when publishing its annual results in mid-February.
Douglas will be on track to be the second IPO of the year in Frankfurt, after that of the Renk group in early February. The manufacturer of gearboxes for assault tanks has successfully completed its IPO, four months after suspending its project due to difficult market conditions.
In addition to Douglas, at least four major IPOs are expected on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, sources also told Reuters.
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