CriteriaCaixa has decided to take a step forward and once Puig has confirmed the successful placement of its shares to go public, the holding that manages the assets of The La Caixa Foundation has confirmed that it will also be present at the IPO, just as was rumored in the market. Thus, CriteriaCaixa has acquired B shares representing 3.05% of the share capital of Puig Brands within the IPO (public sale operation) that the Catalan company has carried out and which has been placed only among institutional investors, without giving entry to the small investor. For it, The firm chaired by Isidro Fain has committed an investment of 425 million euros.
“It is part of Criteria’s selection of leading companies in highly attractive sectors, with the capacity for growth and value generation. In this sense, the investment will allow gaining exposure to the fashion and beauty industry, which has proven to be resilient in crisis situations, with annual growth of close to 5% for decades,” the holding this afternoon.
Similarly, CriteriaCaixa says it feels comfortable with the shareholder remuneration policy announced by Puig according to which it will distribute 40% of the group’s profit among its investors, following the trend of recent years used by the fine perfumery group. “Puig is an emblematic company in the fashion and beauty sector, with a high level of internationalization; a diversified portfolio of brands, channels and product categories; and a management team with a track record demonstrated,” the statement said.
Puig will break this Friday, May 3, with a five-year drought in regards to stock market listings in Spain. The high-end perfumery firm has managed to place its shares at the highest price expected among investors, of 24.5 euros, which represents a capitalization of 13,920 million euros at the time of its debut. The Puig family will maintain almost absolute control of the company after its stock market debut, with 90% of the political rights and over 70% of the economic rights, where it has opened its hand a little more to admit qualified investors.
In any case, experts assume that the future of the family firm is to be within the Ibex 35 towards the end of the year given the size of the company.
Puig specializes in selling perfumery and fashion (to a lesser extent) as well as offering foot care treatments and high-end makeup. It operates in 32 countries, employs more than 11,000 people and has a market share of 11% in what is known as ‘selective perfumery’ or niche, which are those fragrances with a higher cost than those sold in large commercial areas. Puig is one of the five largest sellers in the world. It has 17 brands (14 of them owned), among which, in terms of revenue, Rabanne, Charlotte Tilbury and Carolina Herrera stand out, among the best-selling in the world.. For the group, Spain represents 7% of income. The US and England are its main markets.