Companies

Samsonite cuts size of Hong Kong IPO

By Fox Hu (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-06-11 09:56

Luggage made by Samsonite International SA on display at a store in Hong Kong. The company has cut the maximum size of a Hong Kong initial public offering by 11 percent. [Photo/China Daily]

HONG KONG - Samsonite International SA, the luggage maker backed by London-based CVC Capital Partners Ltd, has cut the maximum size of a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) by 11 percent to about $1.3 billion, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Samsonite narrowed the IPO price range to between HK$14.50 ($1.86) and HK$15.50 a share, from the previous range of HK$13.50 to $HK17.50, said the people, who declined to be identified because the information is private. The final price is scheduled to be set on Saturday, according to the offering's prospectus.

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The company is competing for investors' money with Prada SpA, the Italian luxury-goods maker planning to raise as much as $2.6 billion in a Hong Kong IPO this month. The narrowed price range values Samsonite at as much as 19.5 times estimated full-year earnings, the people said. Prada's sale will give it a maximum valuation of 28 times earnings, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. "The revision of the IPO price range reflects, in part, the competition in the IPO market and partly the global pullback, as markets trend lower," said Andrew Sullivan, director of institutional sales trading at OSK Securities Hong Kong Ltd.

Companies have struggled to extract the maximum valuation in IPOs as the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index retreated 3.8 percent, dimming the allure of new equity. The casino venture, MGM China Holdings Ltd, is the only company since October to price a $1 billion-plus IPO in Hong Kong at the top end of its marketed range, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Prada received bids for all the shares offered to money managers on the first day of order taking, three people with knowledge of the transaction said. The Milan-based maker of Miu Miu handbags is scheduled to start trading on June 24, eight days after Samsonite debuts.

Coach Inc is among other consumer-goods makers seeking a Hong Kong listing to bolster brand awareness in China, where rising affluence is bolstering spending on foreign goods.

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