SMCP Files For French Stock Market Listing
The IPO comes as owner Shandong Ruyi Group ramps up international expansion of SMCP's contemporary fashion brands.
PARIS – SMCP, the owner of French contemporary brands Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, has filed to list the group on the French stock market.
The plans for the initial public offering were initially revealed in June, when the company said it was considering the move, fulfilling part of its obligations in the process.
The initiative comes as the company has signaled plans to step up international expansion. Earlier this month, SMCP named a seasoned luxury executive, Isabelle Guichot, as chief executive officer of the fashion brand Maje.
The group’s owner, Shandong Ruyi Group, plans to remain majority shareholder. The Chinese conglomerate has a vast textiles business and acquired the French apparel company last October in a deal estimated at 1.3 billion euros, including debt. SMCP’s founders and management reinvested as minority stakeholders, along with former owner KKR.
“We are about to reach a new milestone in SMCP’s life, with the support of our controlling shareholder Shandong Ruyi, and at a time when our three brands’ desirability continues to increase across the world,” said Daniel Lalonde, president and chief executive officer of SMCP.
Shandong Ruyi chairman Yafu Qiu reiterated the Chinese conglomerate’s intentions to keep control of the French apparel company, with a stake of around 51 percent upon completion of the IPO.