- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
- India pile up World Cup high to rout Sri Lanka
- One year later, Israeli hostage family learns of loss
- Texans receiver Collins, Pats' safety Peppers out for NFL clash
- Biden-Netanyahu talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- Musk's X available again in Brazil after 40-day ban
- Reddy stars as India crush Bangladesh to clinch T20 series
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- Arch rivals Ghana, Nigeria drawn together in CHAN qualifying
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Trump lauds India's Modi as 'total killer'
- Wall Street, Europe rise as Chinese shares tumble
- Hunkering down for Hurricane Milton at Disney -- but first, a few rides
- Reddy, Rinku power India to 221-9 in second Bangladesh T20
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Time running out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
Spain's fashion and beauty group Puig poised for IPO
The iconic Nina Ricci, Paco Rabanne and Jean-Paul Gaultier labels make their market debut Friday 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," chairman 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.
- A family firm -
The Barcelona-based group, which specialises in perfumes and cosmetics, enters the market on Friday with an opening guidance price of 24.50 euros (about $26) 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 euros, 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 euros 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 euros.
That could then be complemented with the sale of shares reserved for specific investors for another 390 million euros, which would allow the group to raise around 3.0 billion euros.
Despite the move, the Puig family said it would retain a controlling interest in the company with 71.7 percent of the shares, along with "the vast majority of voting rights" -- 92.5 percent -- within the board of directors.
- 'Greater financial clout' -
The idea of an IPO had first been raised by Puig himself in an interview with the Financial Times in October 2023, in which he said being accountable to the market would bring "a discipline" that would head off any issues when passing the baton from one generation to the next.
"Sometimes family businesses can lose their position in the market. They can start to die slowly and nobody inside the company is aware of it," he told the paper. "If you’re accountable (to investors), those things can be noticed."
According to Javier Cabrera, an analyst at XTB, the IPO would allow the group to build "greater financial clout" by taking advantage of "the positive stock market dynamics" in the luxury goods and fashion sector.
Luxury goods are enjoying a buoyant moment with sector heavyweights posting record sales in 2023, despite a slowdown following two years of double-digit growth.
Last year, Puig posted sales of 4.3 billion euros, a 19 percent increase on 2022, logging net profits of 465 million euros, up 16 percent year-on-year.
And that growth could gather pace thanks to Puig's strategy of acquisitions, which in recent years has led to "a high level of growth" and "a good diversification of revenues, both geographically and in terms of business lines", Cabrera said.
He also pointed to the group's strong showing in China, a major consumer of luxury goods.
M.A.Colin--AMWN