By Gilles Castonguay
MILAN--Moleskine SpA, maker of the iconic, black notebooks once
favored by artists like U.S. writer Ernest Hemingway, will embark
on a roadshow next week ahead of an April listing of about half its
shares in Milan in an operation that could value it at up to 561.8
million euros ($732.5 million), according to a public notice
Saturday.
Moleskine, whose product line is made up of a wider array of
stationery items sold at premium prices, will offer 106.36 million
shares to investors at a price ranging between 2 euros and 2.65
euros apiece, according to the notice published in Il Sole 24 Ore,
an Italian business daily. The amount includes up to 12 million new
shares to be issued by means of a capital increase.
The top end of the price range would give Moleskine a valuation
of some 14 times the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortization, or Ebitda, of EUR38 million it is expected by
Mediobanca (MB.MI) to reach in 2013. The Italian bank is one of the
joint global coordinators of the initial public offering. The
valuation would be in line with the average for the sector of
premium brands calculated by Mediobanca in a report published
earlier this month.
Based in Milan, Moleskine's listing would raise up to EUR281
million for its shareholders, which include Syntegra Capital, a
private-equity firm that owns a majority stake.
It is designed to increase the company's public profile and give
it more financial flexibility, according to Mediobanca.
Moleskine's roadshow will start Monday and run until March 27
before a listing on the exchange by April 3.
Of the total number of shares being offered, up to 95.72 million
will be sold to institutional investors, with the remainder going
to retail.
Moleskine's IPO is the first for the Milan exchange this year.
The few listings that have come to the exchange in the past couple
of years have been mostly by Italian premium brands such as fashion
houses Salvatore Ferragamo SpA (SFER.MI) and Brunello Cucinelli SpA
(BC.MI).
Moleskine is being brought to market despite the volatility
recorded on the exchange in recent weeks in light of the hung
parliament after the country's general election last month. Italy
is also suffering from a severe recession.
In the first nine months of 2012, Moleskine had an Ebitda of
EUR24.51 million against EUR23.1 million for the same period in
2011, according to its registration document.
Revenue was EUR56.63 million against EUR50.99 million, about
half of which came from Europe and more than a third came from the
Americas.
Net profit totalled EUR14.19 million against EUR11.56 million,
and net financial debt was EUR48.7 million at the end of the
period.
For 2013, Mediobanca foresees growth for Moleskine's business,
posting EUR94.5 million in revenue, EUR38 million in Ebitda and
EUR22.5 million in net profit.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and UBS AG (UBS, UBSN.VX) join
Mediobanca as coordinators of the listing.
Write to Gilles Castonguay at gilles.castonguay@dowjones.com;
Twitter: @GRCastonguay
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