As expected, the Douglas perfumery chain wants to return to the stock market and primarily use the proceeds to reduce its mountain of debt. The company is aiming for equity inflows of 1.1 billion euros, as it announced on Monday in Düsseldorf. On the one hand, the money will come from a capital increase as part of the IPO. On the other hand, the old owners, the financial investor CVC and the Kreke family, want to contribute around 300 million euros.
According to the company, the proceeds will be used to further reduce debt on the balance sheet. Douglas wants to refinance the remaining debts under better conditions. Depending on the market environment, trading could begin in the first quarter.
CVC will continue to hold an indirect majority in Douglas after the IPO, it said. The Kreke family will also remain indirectly involved. Both existing shareholders would not sell any shares in the IPO. The final structure of the offer is still to be determined.
The financial investor Advent and the founding Kreke family as minority shareholders took Douglas off the stock exchange in 2013 in order to realign the company. In 2015, the financial investor CVC took over the majority. Douglas has 1,850 branches in 22 countries across Europe and employs around 18,000 people. (dpa)