German perfume retailer Douglas plans $1.2 billion IPO by March end

German perfume retailer Douglas said on Monday it will pursue a 1.1 billion euro (about $1.2 billion) initial public offering (IPO) on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, with the listing to be completed in the first quarter of 2024, subject to capital market conditions.

The IPO includes an additional equity injection of around 300 million euros from the current shareholders, the company said.

Its proceeds will be used to reduce debt, while remaining loans will be refinanced at better conditions, it said.

“The Douglas Group is ideally positioned to further capitalize on the large and resilient European premium beauty market,” CEO Sander van der Laan said in a statement, calling an IPO the “logical next step” in the company’s growth strategy.

The business, backed by CVC Capital Partners, will be the second listing in Germany this year if it goes ahead, following tank part manufacturer Renk’s IPO at the start of February.

Alongside Douglas, there are least four other major IPOs pencilled in for the first half of the year, sources have told Reuters.

The prospective share sales come after a quiet two years for initial public offerings, as soaring debt costs and geopolitical uncertainty dampened sentiment towards new stock listings.