Galderma confirms price range for blockbuster IPO

(Sharecast News) - Galderma announced the price range for its forthcoming flotation on Wednesday, leaving the skincare giant on track to raise more than £2bn. The Swiss firm, which owns sensitive skin brand Cetaphil, among others, has announced a price range of between 49 to 53 Swiss francs.

The offering consists of 40.5m new shares, 277,000 existing shares and an over-allotment option of up to 6.1m existing shares. If fully exercised, the offer size will be 2.3bn Swiss francs (£2.1bn).

Galderma first announced plans to debut on the Swiss stock exchange earlier this month, in what is likely to be one of the biggest IPOs in Europe this year.

Proceeds will be used to pay down debt.

The firm is owned by Swedish private equity firm EQT, Singapore's CIC and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. EQT will sell down a proportion of its stake as part of the IPO, although it has confirmed it will remain a "significant" investor.

Galderma is one of the world's largest dermatology companies. Last year it saw sales jump nearly 9%, excluding currency fluctuations, to a record $4.1bn. Core operating profits rose 21% to $942m. Its specialist products range from acne treatments to wrinkle fillers.

Originally a joint venture between Nestle and L'Oréal, the EQT-led consortium acquired the Zug-based business in 2019 in a $10bn deal.

The offer period will run until 20 March.