This Week, Puig Tries to Break the IPO Curse; Adidas Takes a Victory Lap

The stock opened up 4.1% at €25.50 from the IPO price of €24.50. The Barcelona-based firm and its shareholders sold 106.5 million shares at the top end of a marketed price range, giving it a market value of €13.9 billion.

Puig builds on a broad revival in European IPOs this year following Galderma Group AG’s $2.3 billion offering in Switzerland and CVC Capital Partners Plc’s $2.15 billion initial share sale. Companies in the region have raised about $12.2 billion in the year to date, more than twice as much as in the same period in 2023, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Puig owns brands such as Rabanne, Carolina Herrera and Jean Paul Gaultier. Over the years, it has branched out into skincare and makeup, most recently with the acquisition of British makeup and skincare brand Charlotte Tilbury. That expansion has helped the company more than double its revenue in the past decade.

Members of the 110-year-old Puig dynasty are the biggest individual winners in the IPO. Two third-generation family members work for the group, which is run by Marc Puig Guasch, the chief executive officer and a grandson of the founder. He and his cousin, Manuel Puig Rocha, are the only family members on the board.

Following the listing, the Puig family will hold more than 90% of voting rights through their Class-A shares, which have five votes each compared to one for the Class-B stock, according to its prospectus.

The company has said it intends to use the proceeds to refinance recent acquisitions, pay down debt and to make future investments.

What Bloomberg Intelligence Says:

Puig has strengthened its brand portfolio — it has two of the top-10 prestige fragrances globally (Paco Rabanne and Carolina Herrera) — and the IPO adds scope to make strategic acquisitions, bolstering future brand equity.

By Swetha Gopinath and Clara Hernanz Lizarraga

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Rabanne Owner Puig, Shareholders Raise €2.6 Billion in IPO

The listing drew orders for multiple times the number of shares available and is contributing to a broad resurgence of European initial public offerings.

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