Italian retailer Gruppo Coin aims to spin off its OVS Industry high-street chain and list its shares with a public offer by the end of this year, the group's chief executive said on Wednesday. The clothes, accessories and footwear company will probably only sell new shares, raising money for new shop openings while current shareholders keep their stakes, Stefano Beraldo said. "We have lots of development plans and as this listing will be essentially a primary deal the money coming in will strengthen the balance sheet and let us focus on growing," Beraldo said at the opening of an OVS shop in Milan.
Exactly how much of OVS will be listed has yet to be decided but Beraldo said it would be "at least 30 percent, probably even a little more". He said it should be spun off from the group, which also controls department stores Coin and Excelsior, by September and listed by the end of the year.
Gruppo Coin was Italy's largest clothing retailer when it was delisted in 2011 after private equity firm BC Partners bought it in a deal worth close to 1.3 billion euros ($1.77 billion) including debt.
Last year OVS had earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 136 million euros on revenue of just under 1 billion euros.
Beraldo said no decision had been made about how to divide up the group's debt after the spin-off, but he thought a ratio of 2-2.5 times net debt to EBITDA would be appropriate for OVS.