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CVC Capital Partners, one of Europe's largest private equity firms, is aiming to raise more than €1.25 billion in an initial public offering on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, ending a years-long wait for an IPO.
The company, which manages 186 billion euros in assets across a range of investment strategies, is seeking a valuation of between 13 billion euros and 15 billion euros, one person said. Some existing shareholders will sell shares and a backer, Blue Owl, will increase its stake.
The announcement, which confirms a Financial Times report last week, comes despite renewed unrest in the Middle East. CVC has twice postponed plans to go public as geopolitics rattled markets.
The fact that it is now moving forward indicates the increasing momentum of new listings on the European markets. There have been a number of large IPOs in recent weeks, including dermatology company Galderma and CVC-backed retailer Douglas.
CVC will also be the latest private equity group to go public, following US peers such as Blackstone, KKR & Co and Apollo Global Management, as well as European rivals EQT and Bridgepoint. Shares of some of its listed rivals, including Blackstone and EQT, have performed strongly recently, with both rising more than 40 percent in the last 12 months.
CVC was founded in the early 1990s by a group of dealmakers including Rolly Van Rappard, Steve Koltes and Donald Mackenzie and has since established itself as one of Europe's largest buyout groups.
Backed by successful bets on companies from Formula 1 to watchmaker Breitling, the group raised €26 billion last year for the largest private equity fund of all time.
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In addition to expanding its core private equity unit, the group has also expanded into other asset classes, including credit and infrastructure. In 2021, CVC sold a stake in itself to the US investment firm Blue Owl worth 15 billion euros.
According to a statement confirming the company's intention to go public, the company generated sales of more than 1 billion euros last year.
CVC is pressing ahead with its IPO plans amid renewed uncertainty in the Middle East, although geopolitical events and market turmoil have twice scuppered its listing plans. There have also been internal debates about whether the IPO, which faces constant pressure to manage continued growing assets, will have an impact on the company's profit-driven culture.
CVC had originally planned to go public in 2022, but had to postpone this after Russia invaded Ukraine. The company reconsidered its plans to go public last year, but conflict in the Middle East contributed to CVC postponing its planned IPO again.
The buyout industry also faced challenges as higher interest rates made it more difficult to do business and some investments came under pressure due to rising borrowing costs.
As CVC prepares to list, some of its more experienced executives have stepped away from the company they founded. Koltes retired in 2022 and Mackenzie announced his retirement in February of this year. Van Rappard will take over as chairman of CVC when it goes public.
The IPO will allow existing shareholders, including the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Kuwait Investment Authority and Singapore's GIC, to sell their shares. Over time, this will also make it easier for older executives like Mackenzie and Koltes who have resigned to sell shares.
It will also provide CVC with capital for further acquisitions in areas such as real estate and may help finance its acquisition of Dutch infrastructure investment firm DIF Capital Partners announced last year.
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