CVC's Ahlsell aiming for SEK 23.4bn valuation in IPO

Greg Gille and Mikkel Stern-Peltz
19 October 2016

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Swedish plumbing and tools wholesaler Ahlsell, owned by CVC Capital Partners, has set the initial price range for its upcoming listing on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm.

The share price is expected to be set in the SEK 45-58 range, meaning Ahlsell could be valued at up to SEK 23.4bn. The first day of trading is expected to be on 28 October, with the offering consisting of 30% of the company's shares. Assuming the overallotment option is exercised in full, this could reach 43.5%. All shares would be sold by existing investors, including CVC.

Assuming all options are exercised in full, CVC would still be left with a majority stake of 51.6% post-IPO.

Ahlsell's flotation would bring to an end nearly two decades of private equity ownership for Ahlsell. CVC acquired Ahlsell in February 2012 in a €1.8bn SBO from Cinven and Goldman Sachs, which in turn had bought it from Nordic Capital for around €1.28bn in 2006. Nordic Capital acquired Ahlsell in 1999 as part of the carve-out of four subsidiaries of Swedish industrial conglomerate Trelleborg in what was considered to be the largest ever Swedish private equity transaction at the time.

In the year to 30 June 2016, Ahlsell generated SEK 23.2bn of net revenue, with adjusted EBITA of SEK 2bn. The company was founded in 1877 and is a distributor of plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning supplies, as well as tools. It has outlets across the Nordic region, Estonia, Poland and Russia.

According to the Financial Times, the IPO could be the largest Swedish listing since national telecoms operator Telia's €9bn flotation in 2000.

Goldman Sachs, Nordea, Carnegie, Danske Bank, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and UBS are acting as join bookrunners, while Goldman Sachs and Nordea are acting as joint global coordinators. ABG Sundal Collier, DNB Markets and SEB are acting as co-lead managers.