BERLIN — Revamped and streamlined, Douglas AG is ready to face its public. The German perfumery concern announced Friday that it was readying an initial public offering for later this year. A listing of existing shares and a capital increase of close to 70 million euros, or $76.4 million at current exchange, is being prepared, the company said.
“After successfully transforming Douglas in the last two years, we believe that Douglas is now ideally positioned to benefit from continued growth in the selective beauty market,” stated Douglas chief executive officer Henning Kreke. The Kreke family, who founded the concern and currently hold a 20 percent stake, will remain shareholders.
Douglas cited accelerated sales and earnings growth in the first half of its 2014 and 2015 fiscal years, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization amounting to 273 million euros, $346.9 million at average exchange, for the period ended March 31. Pro forma annual sales for 2013-14 were reported to be about 2.5 billion euros, or $3.39 billion.
Douglas was removed from the stock market in 2013, a few months after a majority stake of the Hagen, Germany-based retail group was purchased by private equity firm Advent International. The makeover quickly began,
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