Galderma intends to raise roughly $2.3 billion when it floats on the Swiss stock exchange, the skin care company said today in what is likely to be one of the biggest initial public offerings (IPO) in Europe this year.
The Swiss company, which was originally set up as a joint venture between Nestle and L'Oreal in 1981, said it will use the money raised to pay down and refinance debt.
"Today marks the next step in our growth journey as the global dermatology category leader," said chief executive Flemming Ornskov.
"Since becoming an independent company in 2019, we have built a scalable integrated platform and established the foundation for our strong sustainable growth in attractive dermatology markets," he added.
Galderma increased its sales last year by 8.5%, when currency effects were removed, to $4.08 billion, its highest ever. Core operating profit increased by 21% to $942m.
The company said it expected to increase its constant currency sales by 7%-10% this year, and achieve a core operating profit margin in line with the 23.1% level in 2023.
The IPO, which could take place by the end of April, will consist mainly of newly created shares with a smaller chunk of existing shares to be sold by Galderma's current shareholder, the Swedish private equity company EQT.
The offering is expected as a public offering in Switzerland and in the form of private placements in the US and elsewhere, to certain qualified institutional buyers, the company said.
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS are acting as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the planned IPO, which is likely to be one of the biggest in Switzerland this year.
BNP Paribas, Bank of America, Citi and Jefferies are also acting as joint bookrunners. Lazard is acting as independent financial advisor.
