Iconic brands Nina Ricci, Paco Rabanne and Jean-Paul Gaultier debut on Friday as Spanish fashion and beauty group Puig begins trading on the Madrid stock exchange.
For the Puig family group, which has rapidly developed in luxury, its IPO is an important step that will allow it to compete with giants in the sector such as Estée Lauder, Hermes, Kering and LVMH.
The move “is a decisive milestone in Puig’s 110-year history,” Marc Puig, chairman and CEO, said last month, emphasizing the company’s “long-term approach.”
Founded in Barcelona in 1914 by businessman Antonio Puig Castello, the group has grown over the years to become a heavyweight in the cosmetics, perfumery and fashion sectors, consolidating its position in recent years. years through a series of prestigious acquisitions.
Its brands include Paco Rabanne, Nina Ricci, Charlotte Tilbury, Carolina Herrera and Dries Van Noten. It also owns a majority stake in the Jean Paul Gaultier brand and has licensing agreements with Prada, Christian Louboutin and Comme des Garçons.
– A family business –
The Barcelona group, specializing in perfumes and cosmetics, enters the market on Friday with an indicative opening price of 24.50 euros (around $26) per share.
Analysts said it was Spain’s biggest IPO this year and one of the biggest in Europe.
This price gives the group a market capitalization estimated at nearly 14 billion euros, which will allow it to enter the Ibex 35 stock exchange in Madrid, which brings together the 35 largest Spanish companies.
The IPO will take place in two stages, the first aiming to raise an initial amount of 1.25 billion euros through newly issued shares.
It would then carry out a “larger secondary offering” of existing shares held by its holding company Exea to raise nearly 1.36 billion euros.
This could then be supplemented by the sale of shares reserved for specific investors for an additional €390 million, which would allow the group to raise around €3.0 billion.
Despite the move, the Puig family said it would retain a majority stake in the company with 71.7 percent of the shares, as well as “the vast majority of voting rights” – 92.5 percent – on the board. of administration.
– “Greater financial weight” –
The idea of an IPO was first raised by Puig himself in an interview with the Financial Times in October 2023, in which he said that being accountable to the market would bring “a discipline” that would avoid any problems when passing the baton from one state to another. generation to the next.
“Sometimes family businesses can lose their position in the market. They can start to die slowly and no one in the company realizes it,” he told the newspaper. “If you are responsible (to investors), these things can be noticed.”
According to Javier Cabrera, analyst at
Luxury is experiencing a buoyant period, with the heavyweights of the sector having recorded record sales in 2023, despite a slowdown after two years of double-digit growth.
Last year, Puig achieved a turnover of 4.3 billion euros, an increase of 19% compared to 2022, and a net profit of 465 million euros, up 16% over a year.
And this growth could accelerate thanks to Puig’s acquisition strategy, which has led in recent years to “a high level of growth” and “good diversification of revenues, both geographically and in terms of sectors of activity.” activity,” Cabrera said.
He also highlighted the group’s good performance in China, a major consumer of luxury products.
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yahoo
