Nordic Capital spun off 30 percent of its holdings in Thule Group AB Nov. 26 for SEK2.2 billion, or about $295 million, in a highly successful initial public offering on Nasdaq Stockholm.
Nordic sold 26.1 million shares, or 26.1 percent of Thules 100 million authorized shares, to institutional investors globally and public investors in Sweden. Underwriting banks exercised their over-allotment option for an additional 3.9 million shares in full, bringing the total number of shares sold as of the Nov. 28 settlement date to 30 million. Shares were priced Nov. 26 at SEK70 ($9), or on the high end of the SEK64-74 price range Thule forecast. Thule Group did not receive any proceeds from the sale.
Joint global coordinators and book runners for the deal were Goldman Sachs and Nordea. Morgan Stanley was joint book runner and co-lead managers include Danske Bank and DNB markets. In the United States, the offering was offered only to institutional and other qualified investors as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act.
Thules Outdoor & Bags segment reported net sales of $SEK3.71 billion ($557 mm) in the first nine months of 2014, up 9.1 percent from the comparable period in 2013. That included sales of SEK1.12 billion ($168 mm) from the Americas, where sales grew 1.6 percent from the year earlier period to reach 32.8 percent of segment sales. Segment gross margin reached 40.2 percent for the recent period, up 170 basis points from the nine months ended. Sept. 30, 2013. Operating income reached SEK619 million, up 28 percent from the year earlier period. Net income, however, plunged to SEK69 million (-$10 mm) due to a SEK368 million loss from discontinued operations.
Thules Outdoor & Bags segment includes equipment for cycling, water and winter sports, roof boxes, bike trailers, baby joggers, laptop and camera bags, backpacks and cases for mobile handheld devices. Its Specialty segment, which generated sales of SEK321 million during the nine months ended Sept. 30, sells snow chains and pick-up truck tool boxes.
