CVC preparing to launch IPO as early as next week, FT reports

CVC is preparing to announce its intention to float in Amsterdam as soon as next week in a mood-defying move by Europe’s largest private equity group, Financial Times’ Kaye Wiggins and Will Louch report. The firm, which has EUR 161B under management, was valued at EUR 15B in a private transaction in 2021. It intends to sell shares in an entity that will receive its management fees, as well as part of its carried interest – the share of gains it gets when exiting profitable investments, according to two people with direct knowledge of the plans. Companies including Planisware, Renk and CVC-owned DKV Mobility this month shelved listing plans because of weak investor demand. Shares in German shoemaker Birkenstock (BIRK), which listed in New York this month, have fallen, the authors note. In 2021, Blue Owl‘s (OWL) Dyal Capital unit bought a stake in a deal that valued CVC at EUR 15B. Dyal is unlikely to sell its stake at the time of the IPO, two people with knowledge of the matter said.