Moncler: most successful stock market debut of 2013

ANALYSIS_ Greatly anticipated, Moncler´s debut at the Borsa de Milano has not disappointed anyone. Dubbed by many in the trade as the ‘new Burberry’, Moncler enjoyed a sound success at the trading floor, seeing its shares surged

almost 50 percent on the first day of trading.

Shares at Moncler closed gained 40 percent by the close of their first trading session, raising 574 million pounds in what was the largest float seen on the Milanese bourse since Prada's in 2010.

At the close of its first trading day, the Milan-listed company is worth 3.7 billion pounds after it received 20 billion pounds in orders from investors.

Moncler´s IPO cined the most successful of 2013

Moncler put its shares on sale at 10.20 a piece, at the top end of the offer range. The stock started trading in Milan on December, 16 and closed at 14.97 euros, noting a 47 percent gain. Moncler is now valued at about 20 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.

The ski jacket manufacturer´s owners – private equity firms Carlyle and Eurazeo, together with founder Remo Ruffini – were the main benefiters. Carlyle has made six times its investment, while Eurazeo gained 3.3 times the amount it put into the fashion retailer, stressed sources quoted by Italian press.

A broker close to the matter said that the very strong demand from major international investors has allowed distributors to cut out many small and medium sized funds, which saw themselves forced to put purchase orders in the opening.

Among the big winners, outstands Gianni Tamburi, who took over 14 percent of Ruffini Investments the holding company of the eponymous Ruffini, who owns 32 percent of Moncler.

LVMH´s top executive Bernard Arnault and Salvatore Ferragamo joined the share register in the offer which was 27 times oversubscribed. President and founder Remo Ruffini remains the biggest investor having bought the brand in 2003.

With regards to 2014, the revenue grow by another 671 million euros or 18 percent, as per estimated by analyst Mario Ortelli of Bernstein Research. Ortelli advances that the biggest challenge for Moncler is to reduce the dependence on the main product line.

The shares could be worth 20 percent more than the 10.20 euros they were priced at the IPO “over time,” said in an interview with Bloomberg Allegra Perry, an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald.

“I would expect the shares to trade well following the IPO,” Perry said by phone. The potential share-price upside may be even greater than 20 percent “because people might reward it for having more international growth prospects,” Perry concluded.