Frankfurt The Swiss skin care company Galderma is pushing ahead with preparations for an IPO planned for 2022. The deal could become one of the biggest issues of the year in Europe. According to financial circles, the owner EQT has already selected nine banks to organize the new issue around Easter on the Swiss stock exchange, at which Galderma could be valued at 17 to 20 billion Swiss francs.
Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are in charge of the listing and are supported by UBS, BNP Paribas, Citi, Bank of America and Jefferies. Lazard acts as a so-called IPO advisor. Galderma, EQT and the banks declined to comment or were initially unavailable.
The company manufactures both prescription drugs and over-the-counter products for problems such as dry skin, neurodermatitis, psoriasis, skin allergies, acne, skin cancer, nail fungus, skin care creams and sun protection. Well-known brands include Cetaphil, Metvix, Oracea, Dysport and Bübchen. Galderma has a turnover of around three billion francs a year and employs around 5,000 people.
According to people familiar with the process, Galderma plans an EBITDA of around 800 million in 2022 and over a billion in 2023. For the assessment, the banks use cosmetics competitors such as L’Oreal and Estee Lauder, who trade around 25 times their operating profit (EBITDA), and manufacturers of medical products such as Straumann, Alcon, Zoetis and Align Technology, some of which are more than 40 times as much.
Why Nestlé sold the company
Galderma used to be a division of the Nestlé food company. However, as part of the realignment of the brand portfolio and the focus on food under Nestlé boss Mark Schneider, the group parted with the skin care products business in 2019. The division’s growth opportunities are “increasingly outside the group’s strategic focus,” said Schneider at the time.
Galderma went to private equity firm EQT for CHF 10.2 billion. The company prevailed against other financial investors, including the Stada owner Cinven. If the IPO succeeds, EQT could benefit from doubling its valuation in just over two years.