Cosmetic Firm Coty, Maker Of Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, And Playboy Perfumes, Is Opening A U.S. IPO

European cosmetics manufacturer Coty is coming forward with its first IPO on the U.S. markets this week. They are looking to raise $700 million, but offers are expected to exceed $1 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. The firms leading the IPO are Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), among others.

Coty was founded in Paris in 1904 and is the maker of fragrances for celebrities like Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and Lady Gaga. They are also responsible for the fragrances of fashion houses like Marc Jacobs and Calvin Klein, and market nail polish for OPI, Rimmel and Sally Hansen.

Calling itself “the new emerging leader in beauty,” Coty started the IPO process in May 2012, but set it aside to pursue a hostile takeover of rival Avon Products (NYSE:AVP). The advances were rebuffed, and then markets took a beating before Coty finally announced they were moving forward with the IPO again.

Between 2010 and 2012 Coty saw a 16 percent increase in revenues, Investor Place reported. The company is planning to offer 57.1 million shares priced between $16.50 and $18.50. Despite a shaky mergers and acquisitions record, most investors are bullish on Coty and are recommending investing.

“We’re in the best IPO market environment we’ve had post the financial crisis,” Jeff Bunzel, head of equity capital markets, Americas, for Deutsche Bank told peHUB.com. “That’s allowing private equity firms that had investments in many very large and very high quality companies to take them public.”

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