The cosmetics and fashion firm Puig has already achieved oversubscription of the order book for the IPO on May 3, an operation that values the company between 12.7 billion and 13.9 billion, after opening it in the early hours of this Friday by the placement entities.
Sources familiar with the operation have indicated that "there has been a lot of demand", which guarantees the operation, taking into account that there are sufficient orders from investors to cover the size of the offer set at up to 3,000 million euros.
Specifically, Puig will begin trading on May 3 with a price range of between 22 and 24.50 euros per share, which will give the company a market capitalization of between 12.7 billion and 13.9 billion euros, according to the prospectus sent by the company to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) and authorized by the supervisory body.
The firm will set the final price on April 30 for what will be the largest IPO in Europe so far this year. Thus, it offers a number of shares in the primary offer to obtain gross income of approximately 1,250 million euros, while the majority shareholder of the company, Puig, S.L., controlled by Exea (the Puig family's holding company) offers a number of shares of the secondary offering to obtain gross proceeds of approximately 1,360 million euros.
In addition, Puig S.L., the selling shareholder, will grant Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE, acting as stabilization agent, a purchase option, on behalf of the managers, of over-allotment shares of approximately up to 15% of the size of the base offer for a maximum amount of 390 million euros.
Following the offer, the Puig family will retain a majority stake. In the company's opinion, becoming a publicly traded company involves a "higher level of scrutiny" by investors, analysts, regulators and the market in general, "ensuring that the next generations of the Puig family are subject to the highest possible standards while steering the company in the right strategic direction," the brochure highlights.
"This will enable the firm to better compete in the international beauty market during the next phase of development. As a result of the offering, the company's corporate and capital structures will be better aligned with those of the best family-owned companies in the beauty sector. 'premium' beauty on a global scale, which have a strong shareholder core linked in most cases to their founding families, which encourages a long-term thinking approach," the firm emphasizes.
Additionally, the company believes that becoming a publicly traded company will involve "greater visibility and awareness," which should provide the company with "useful tools" for attracting and retaining talent, while opening up access to capital. as another source of financing to support the growth strategy of the company's brands and portfolio.
Regarding the remuneration of its shareholders, the group indicates that it has not approved any dividend policy. However, it indicates that it intends to distribute cash dividends in the near future "in a prudent manner", the first of them following its offer in 2025 and charged to the results of 2024. In this case, it plans to maintain a ' pay out' (ratio of dividend over attributable profit) of approximately 40%, in line with its dividend history, not affecting its objectives of continuing to grow its business and execute its business plan. In the future, the prospectus highlights that it will evaluate whether to introduce a dividend policy, "depending on its future results and financing needs."
Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE and JP Morgan SE are acting as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the offering. Banco Santander, BofA Securities Europe, BNP Paribas and CaixaBank act as joint bookrunners, while BBVA, in collaboration with ODDO BHF, and Banco de Sabadell act as co-lead managers. The company and the selling shareholder will agree to certain lock-up commitments with the managers for a period between the date of signing the underwriting contract and 180 calendar days from admission.
