Brenntag’s $1 Billion IPO Is Covered

LONDON (Reuters) – Brenntag Holding, the world’s largest chemical distributor, has attracted enough orders to cover its 800 million euro ($1 billion) initial public offering, according to sources close to the deal.

Brenntag’s IPO will comes after top German cable network operator Kabel Deutschland (KD8Gn.DE), which saw its shares trade largely flat in its $1 billion market debut on Monday.

The global market for initial public offerings is showing new signs of life after a spate of downsizings and postponements. Issue prices are not always what companies originally hoped for, however, and investors are being selective.

Brenntag is selling 10.5 million new shares while existing shareholders, including private equity firms BC Partners [BCPRT.UL], Bain Capital and the management, are selling a combined 4.45 million shares.

At a price range of 46-56 euros per share, the offering puts Brenntag at an enterprise value-to-earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EV/EBITDA) multiple of between 6.9-7.5 times — an 18-24 percent discount to British peer Bunzl (BNZL.L), which trades at 9.1 times EV/EBITDA.

Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Goldman Sachs (GS.N), BofA Merrill Lynch (BAC.N) and J.P. Morgan (JPM.N) are the bookrunners. The deal will close at 1500 GMT Friday for institutional investors, while a market debut on the Frankfrut Stock Exchange on March 29 under trading symbol “BNR” BNRGn.DE. (Reporting by Daisy Ku; Editing by Louise Heavens) ($1 = 0.7401 euro)