Wilson tennis racket maker Amer Sports is targeting a $8.7bn valuation in its US IPO, offering over 100 million shares.
The Finland-based sporting equipment brand has announced its IPO of 100 million public shares, which will be priced between $16 and $18 per share, with the company having said that it is looking to raise up to $1.8bn.
In addition, the firm has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15 million ordinary shares to cover over-allotments.
Potential buyers include the company’s current investors – Anta Sports, Anamered Investments and Tencent Holdings – which have indicated an interest in purchasing up to $510m worth of shares at the IPO price.
Most famously known for its Wilson brand tennis rackets that have been used by 643 Grand Slam title winners, the firm plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “AS”.
Acting as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering are Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, BofA Securities, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and UBS Investment Bank are the lead underwriters for its offering.
The China-backed company had a net loss of about $115.6m on revenue of $3.05bn for the nine months ended 30 September, according to the filings. The listing would be the biggest in the U.S. since a crop of IPOs led by semiconductor designer Arm Holdings Plc’s $5.23bn offering in September.
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