L’Occitane raises 704 million in Hong Kong IPO

French cosmetics group L’Occitane raised 704 million US dollars from its Hong Kong initial public offering.
L’Occitane, which will be the first French company to list in the city, sold 364.12 million shares at the top of its indicative price range of 12.88-15.08 Hong Kong dollars (1.65-1.93 US) per share.
The company’s shares in the public tranche were about 150 times oversubscribed since it began to receive subscriptions from retail investors on Monday, market sources told AFP.
China Investment Corp, China’s 300-billion-US-dollar sovereign-wealth fund, invested 50 million US dollars in the offering, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
The company, which is scheduled to list in Hong Kong on May 7, has the option of increasing the offer by 15 percent to raise up to 810 million US dollars in total.
L’Occitane’s managing director Andre Hoffmann said in a video-conference on Sunday that it chose to list in the financial hub because the Asia-Pacific would be “a key growth driver” for its business in the coming years.
About 65 percent of the IPO proceeds will be earmarked for expanding the brand’s presence in high-growth emerging markets such as China, Brazil, Russia, India and Mexico, the company said.
It said it would also open new stores in established markets including Japan, Germany and Britain.
The performance of the IPO is expected to be closely watched by other European companies who are eyeing a possible listing in Hong Kong to tap China’s growth in demand for high-end goods.