After many false starts, Italian beauty manufacturer Intercos priced its initial public offering at 12.50 euros per share, in the lower part of its initial price range, valuing the company at 1.197 billion euros ($1.40 billion).

WHO: Intercos Group was founded in 1972 by Dario Ferrari, which counts among its major customers the main players of the cosmetic industry. The company has about 5,200 employees, 11 research centers, 15 production plants, and 15 sales offices located on three continents. For almost 50 years, Intercos has been interpreting beauty, creating cosmetic products, and positioning itself as a trendsetter capable of predicting, anticipating, and influencing new trends in the world of cosmetics, thus satisfying the requests of all types of customers with products for all price ranges.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Dario Ferrari, founder and President of Intercos Group, said: "On the eve of the 50-year anniversary of the Group's foundation, the listing represents another important step and demonstrates our constant commitment, competence and passion, making us extremely proud. Intercos has successfully addressed the challenges and changes of the last two years, achieving solid results thanks to our clear strategy, whose key strengths have always been innovation, global presence and sustainability. We are very satisfied with how the financial community has welcomed us since it fully understood our business model. All this has been possible thanks to the efforts of our extraordinary Team, which, with its visionary approach, creates every day unique products capable of predicting trends and of best representing clients' preferences. Thanks to the listing, we will keep pursuing our growth and development targets and we are ready to face the new challenges ahead of us."

Ferrari continued, "Going to the market was important for us, both to have a certain standing and to allow capital to circulate. We will keep control of the company and can work serenely, and if we need money, we will ask for it."

DETAILS:

• The contract cosmetics maker had priced its IPO at 12.50 euros per share, at the lower end of an initial range of 12.0 to 14.5 euros per share, valuing the company at 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion).
• Intercos made its debut with a "free float" of readily tradeable shares of around 26.5% of the company's capital, before the exercise of a "greenshoe" option of additional stock.
• Intercos listed about 25.4 million shares, including 3.5 million newly issued ordinary shares in tandem with a capital increase, and 21.9 million existing ones offered by the firm's key shareholders: the L Catterton-owned CP7 Beauty Luxco Sàrl holding company; The Innovation Trust, which is controlled by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan; Dafe 3000 and Dafe 4000, two entities controlled by Ferrari, as well as the company's own shares.
• The company raised 44 million euros from the issue of new shares, while existing shareholders such as private equity firm L Catterton and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board sold stock worth 274 million euros.
• Intercos founder Dario Ferrari will maintain control of the company, with 40.7% of the total share capital worth some 490 million euros at the float price and 57.9% of the voting rights.
• Asked about potential M&A, Ferrari said he would not rule out small, specific acquisitions, mainly aimed at geographical and product diversification.
• BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Jefferies acted as joint global coordinators for Intercos' IPO. Rothschild & Co was the company's financial advisor, while Cornelli Gabelli e Associati worked with the controlling shareholders.
• White & Case, Maisto e Associati and Studio Legale Giliberti Triscornia e Associati acted as legal advisors for the company, while Linklaters was legal advisor to the joint global coordinators.