Key Takeaways
- Geography: United Kingdom.
Analysis
According to sources, CVC Capital Partners could be considering launching plans for an Amsterdam stock market IPO within weeks.
The buyout firm with around €188bn in AUM and based in London, is still considering the decision and no decision has yet been taken, according to the same sources citing unnamed sources. The decision could be delayed beyond spring or early summer. Other sources pointed to a listing as soon as November. The decision will be made depending on market conditions, as it is usually the case.
CVC, Europe’s biggest private equity firm, postponed last autumn the listing in Amsterdam amid market uncertainty. Since this event, publicly quoted rivals including Blackstone, EQT and KKR have soared its valuation by as much as 40% thanks to a market rally in the last months.
In 2021, CVC was valued at around $15 billion when it sold a minority stake to Blue Owl Capital Inc. The firm was supposed to raise around €1 nillion last November, being considered to be the largest IPO in Europe last year upon completion.
The listing of CVC could be one of the largest-ever from the European buyout industry and could encourage the listing of other firms in the public markets after a period of little movement.
CVC recently announced the expansion of its infrastructure business through the €1 billion acquisition of DIF Capital Partners. The deal was structured through a mix of cash and stock, according to sources. DIF, based in Amsterdam, has around €16 billion of assets under management and 225 employees spread across 11 offices in Europe, North America and Australia.
In 2021, CVC agreed to buy London-based Glendower Capital to enter the secondaries market and reinforce its credit business.
CVC announced in July it had raised €26 billion for the world’s biggest-ever buyout fund in spite of the challenging fundraising environment.
CVC has owned businesses including Formula One motor racing, Debenhams, the AA and Saga. The firm has also agreements with Spain's La Liga and the French Football League.
The news come after the recently successful $5 billion listing of SoftBank Group Corp.’s chip designer Arm Holdings in New York.
According to different sources, other current IPO candidates include Instacart (USA), Klaviyo (USA), DKV Mobility (Germany) and Douglas (Germany).