After months of rumours, Puig makes official its intention to go public with a press release. The Catalan company will apply for the shares to be listed on the Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao and Valencia stock exchanges and to be traded through the Sistema de Interconexión Bursátil (Stock Exchange Interconnection System).
The Catalan perfumery and cosmetics group has also announced what the Initial Offering will consist of: an offer of newly issued shares by the Company, with the aim of raising approximately 2,500 million euros to refinance part of the debt contracted in recent years and to finance new acquisitions. As we explained a few days ago in Next in Beauty, the family will retain a majority shareholding. The founding family will have class B shares - with fewer rights - but will also be guaranteed control of voting rights. The Catalan perfumery group also reserves a number of shares exclusively for investors and will issue class B shares reserved for the founders of Byredo and Charlotte Tilbury, two companies acquired in recent years, as a compromise for the minority stakes they still held in the subsidiaries. They will not form part of the offer and will be subscribed at the end of the placement at the same price.
For the moment, the company has not given any specific date but is working towards the objective of being listed during the month of May.
Marc Puig, executive chairman of Puig, explained that this is a decisive step for the company in its 110-year history and highlighted the steady growth of the company in recent years and underlined the importance of this decision to go public: "It is important for any family business to have the right checks and balances in place, especially during generational transitions. We believe that the balance of being a family company while being subject to market accountability will allow us to better compete in the international beauty market during Puig's next phase of development. We believe that becoming a listed company will align our corporate structure with that of the best family-owned companies in the global premium beauty industry."
Puig signed a record 2023
Puig continued unstoppable last year. The Catalan company published its results for the 2023 financial year, which corroborated the fact that the group continues to grow by leaps and bounds. In terms of net profit, 2023 culminated with a figure of 465 million euros, 16% more than last year's profit.
The Catalan company also registered a new record sales figure of over 4,300 million euros, 19% more than the previous year and with double-digit growth in all segments in which the company operates and also in all geographical areas, with the United States being the 'top' in terms of sales for Puig.
Puig remains focused on its key decisions that have led to its success: emphasis on prestige products, priority to own brands, creation of a unique portfolio of Niche fragrances and diversification into make-up and skincare.