Intercos Group Starts Procedures to List on Italian Bourse
● The group was planning an IPO already last year, but it was eventually postponed due to the pandemic and consequent change in market conditions.
MILAN — Cosmetics manufacturer Intercos Group is to list on the Italian Bourse, after several false starts over the years.
The free float required for the listing will be achieved through a private placement reserved for qualified investors in Europe and the U.K. and foreign institutional investors.
The placement will include newly issued ordinary shares of the company for a total amount of up to 60 million euros resulting from a share capital increase and the sale of ordinary shares by some of the firm’s shareholders, including L Catterton-owned CP7 Beauty Luxco Sàrl holding company and The Innovation Trust, which is controlled by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
CP7 Beauty Luxco Sàrl and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan currently own 33.8 percent and 20.6 percent of the company, respectively. Last year, Intercos’ founder and executive chairman Dario Ferrari and his family holdings Dafe signed an agreement with an affiliate of the Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC for the sale of minority stakes in the subholdings that control Intercos. At the end of the operation, GIC held a minority stake in Dafe 3000 Srl, Dafe 4000 Srl and Dafe 5000 Srl, which together control 44.4 percent of Intercos.
The net proceeds of the capital increase will fund the development of the group’s business and support the implementation of its strategic goals, while Ferrari will continue to retain the control of the group through the adoption of an increased voting rights mechanism.
Subject to market conditions and to obtaining the required approvals and authorizations from the Italian Bourse and its watchdog Consob, the offering is expected to be launched this month.
The group was planning an IPO already last year, but it was eventually postponed due to the pandemic and consequent change in market conditions.
Hints about the intention to proceed with this plan again resurfaced earlier this year, when the company signed an agreement with Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo for a 30-million-euro financing to support the achievement of its ESG targets. The enhanced commitment to sustainability and fulfillment of ESG requirements will additionally play a strategic role in appealing the new investors and enhance the value of the business.
Founded in 1972 by Ferrari and based in Agrate Brianza — a 40-minute drive from Milan — Intercos manufactures and supplies lipsticks, eye shadows, mascaras, foundations, powders, pencils, nail polishes and skin care products to around 680 clients globally. It employs about 5,200 people worldwide, distributed through 11 research centers, 15 production plants and 15 sales offices on three continents.
In 2019, the group reported revenues of 712.7 million euros, up 3 percent compared to the previous year. In particular, makeup accounted for 66 percent of revenues, hair and body products for 20 percent and skin care for the remaining 14 percent.
The company has toyed with the idea of a listing before, but in 2006, plans were shelved given the poor economic climate. In 2014, the firm presented a formal request to list on the Italian Stock Exchange, but in a rapid turnaround, it concluded its road show and released a statement the week before the official listing to withdraw the entire offering, pointing again to deteriorated market conditions.