Coty Inc. has filed an initial public offering to raise up to $700 million, after the perfume maker withdrew its $10.7 billion takeover offer for larger rival Avon Products Inc. (AVP: Quote).
Early May, Coty offered to acquire Avon for $23.25 per share, in an all-cash deal valued at about $10 billion. Upon rejection of the unsolicited offer by Avon, Coty sweetened its offer to $24.75 per share, while urging the company to move forward with talks.
In mid-May, Coty dropped the takeover bid for Avon after the deadline set for negotiation talks expired. Coty had then said it was time for it to "move on and pursue other opportunities."
All the shares offered in the IPO will be sold by existing shareholders, and Coty will not receive any proceeds from it, the company said in a SEC filing. However, the company did not disclose how many shares it expects to offer or the offer price.
Coty revealed that it plans to list its shares on either the Nasdaq Global Select Market or the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol 'COTY.'
Coty is majority owned by Joh. A. Benckiser SE, currently holding 80.5 percent stake in the company. Joh. A. Benckiser is the German holding company that manages the interests of the family of Johann A. Benckiser.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and Rhone Capital L.L.C each own a 7.5 percent stake in Coty. Coty's Chairman Lambertus Becht and Chief Executive Bernd Beetz, hold 1.2 and 1.6 percent stake, respectively.
Coty, which is the world's largest fragrance company, generated revenues of $4.09 billion and posted profit of $61.7 million or $0.18 per share for the full year 2011.
For the full year 2012, Coty expects to improve its revenues by 14 percent to $4.5 billion. Coty said its top 10 brands, which includes perfumes under the brands Adidas, Calvin Klein, Chloe, Davidoff and Playboy, to generate about 70 percent of net revenues in full year 2012.
Majority of Coty revenues are expected from fragrances at about 53 percent, with color cosmetics likely to generate 30 percent of 2012 revenue. Skin and body care revenues are expected at about 17 percent.
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by RTT Staff Writer
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