Times of Malta

Spain’s fashion, beauty group Puig makes market debut

- VALENTIN BONTEMPS

The iconic Nina Ricci, Paco Rabanne and JeanPaul Gaultier labels made their market debut yesterday as Spanish fashion and beauty group Puig begins trading on the Madrid stock exchange.

For the family-owned Puig Group, which has expanded rapidly into luxury goods, going public is a big step which will allow it to compete with the giants of the sector such as Estee Lauder, Hermes, Kering and LVMH.

The move “is a decisive step in Puig’s 110-year history”, chairperso­n and CEO Marc Puig said last month, emphasisin­g the firm’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, fragrance and fashion industries, bolstering its stance in recent years with a string of prestigiou­s acquisitio­ns.

Among its brands are Paco Rabanne, Nina Ricci, Charlotte Tilbury, Carolina Herrera and Dries Van Noten. It also holds a majority stake in the Jean Paul Gaultier label and has licensing agreements with Prada, Christian Louboutin and Comme des Garçons.

The Barcelona-based group, which specialise­s in perfumes and cosmetics, entered the market yesterday with an opening guidance price of €24.50 per share.

Analysts said it was Spain’s biggest IPO this year and one of the largest in Europe.

The price gives the group an estimated market capitalisa­tion of nearly €14 billion, which will allow it to enter Madrid’s Ibex 35 exchange, which groups Spain’s 35 largest companies.

The flotation will take place in two stages, the first of which would seek to raise an initial €1.25 billion through newly issued shares.

It would then make a “larger secondary offering” of existing shares held by its

holding company Exea to raise nearly €1.36 billion.

That could then be complement­ed with the sale of shares reserved for specific investors for another €390 million, which would allow the group to raise around €3 billion.

Despite the move, the Puig family said it would retain a controllin­g interest in the company with 71.7 per cent of the shares, along with “the vast majority of voting rights” − 92.5 per cent − within the board of directors. (AFP)

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?? ?? This article has been prepared by Bank of Valletta plc (the bank), which is licensed to conduct investment services business by the MFSA, for general informatio­n only. This informatio­n is not a solicitati­on or offer by the bank to acquire or sell securities, nor does it constitute any form of advice by the bank. Appropriat­e advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Past performanc­e is not necessaril­y a guide to future performanc­e and the value of investment­s may fall or rise.
This article has been prepared by Bank of Valletta plc (the bank), which is licensed to conduct investment services business by the MFSA, for general informatio­n only. This informatio­n is not a solicitati­on or offer by the bank to acquire or sell securities, nor does it constitute any form of advice by the bank. Appropriat­e advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Past performanc­e is not necessaril­y a guide to future performanc­e and the value of investment­s may fall or rise.
?? PHOTO: JOSEP LAGO/AFP ?? CEO of Spanish fashion and beauty group Puig, Marc Puig, delivering a speech prior to the initial public offerings of the company in Barcelona.
PHOTO: JOSEP LAGO/AFP CEO of Spanish fashion and beauty group Puig, Marc Puig, delivering a speech prior to the initial public offerings of the company in Barcelona.

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