In this IPO, a total of 34,192,455 shares are being offered to investors, consisting of 32,692,308 newly issued shares and 1,500,147 existing shares from the holdings of the Selling Shareholder. This provision enables participants in management equity programs to meet tax obligations related to the IPO.
Following the IPO, CVC Capital Partners and the Kreke family remain significant indirect shareholders, with no shares being sold at the IPO. The total offer size is approximately 890 million euros, resulting in gross proceeds of around 850 million euros for DOUGLAS AG. With an outstanding share of 107,692,308, its market cap is around 2.75 billion euros based on its opening price.
Citigroup and Goldman Sachs served as Joint Process Banks, Joint Global Coordinators, and Joint Bookrunners for the completed transaction. Deutsche Bank, UBS, and UniCredit acted as additional Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners. BNP Paribas, CVC Capital Markets, and Jefferies were also appointed as Joint Bookrunners. Additionally, Intesa Sanpaolo, LBBW, and RBI served as additional Co-Lead Managers.
As per its data, Douglas AG is Europe’s top omnichannel beauty hub, operating through both physical stores and online channels. Headquartered in Düsseldorf, the company’s primary markets, based on 2022 sales figures, include Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland. In the fiscal year 2023, Douglas recorded net sales of EUR 4.1 billion. The company operated around 1,850 stores mostly in Europe.
It’s worth mentioning that Chinese beauty brand Herborist announced its entry into Douglas in 2013, becoming the first Chinese beauty brand to enter the Douglas channel. According to Bai Cao Ji’s official website, at that time, there were only two Asian brands in Douglas stores, both from Japan. Previously, brands from developing countries had never successfully entered the Douglas channel.
