Miss Sixty’s Chinese owner plans IPO

HONG KONG: Chinese fashion house Trendy International Group Co, owner of the Miss Sixty jeans brand in Asia, is planning a domestic initial public offering as soon as the end of next year, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The Guangzhou-based company plans to seek a valuation of about $5 billion, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. Trendy International has picked a Chinese investment bank to work on the proposed share sale, the people said.

Trendy International will join other Chinese clothing retailers such as Modern Avenue Group Co, owner of the Canudilo brand, and Shanghai La Chapelle Fashion Co in funding their expansion by selling shares. A total of 25 apparel companies held IPOs in China and Hong Kong during the past three years that raised a combined $2.2 billion, according to data compiled. Shares of Modern Avenue have risen 118 per cent in Shenzhen trading since its $109 million IPO in February 2012, outpacing the 107 per cent rise in the Shenzhen Composite Index. Shanghai La Chapelle has dropped 44 per cent since its October 2014 trading debut in Hong Kong, compared with a 5.6 per cent fall in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

L Capital Asia, an investment firm backed by French luxury group LVMH, bought a minority stake in Trendy International for nearly $200 million in 2011, according to a press statement. The private equity firm bought about a 10 per cent stake, valuing Trendy International at $2 billion at the time, one of the people said.