B&M tipped to reveal £2bn IPO plans
LIVERPOOL discount retailer B&M Bargains is poised to announce plans next week for a London share listing in a deal which could be worth at least £2bn, sources said.
The company, which sells everything from food to greenhouses and trampolines, has been part-owned by US private equity fund Clayton Dubilier & Rice since 2012.
It has grown to over 370 stores and 17,000 staff across the UK since being founded in Blackpool in 1978.
Last month, the group now based in Speke, was reported to have been seeking to refinance £585m of loans ahead of a potential IPO.
B&M made pre-tax profits of £88.3mi in 2012. A valuation of £2bn would give the firm a multiple of nearly 23 times earnings, although sources told Reuters that the deal would likely be in excess of that figure.
The company’s flotation plans come two months after Poundland, another British discount chain, had its London debut. Poundland, which was backed by private equity firm Warburg Pincus and has over 500 UK and Ireland stores, and currently has a market capitalization of £765.19m and is trading at almost 29 times pre-tax earnings.
However shares have fallen around 13.5% since its debut.
The B&M listing is being run by Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. B&M declined to comment.
It will be the fourth North West retailer to list this year, following online duo AO and Boohoo and Pets at Home.
