Report: SMCP to File for IPO With a Valuation of up to $2.4 Billion

LONDON, United Kingdom — Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan and KKR Capital Markets have been chosen as joint global coordinators for the float of fashion company SMCP in Paris, sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The French company behind fashion brands Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot, which is controlled by China's Shandong Ruyi, is expected to list its shares this autumn.

Two different sources said BNP Paribas was also picked to be among the syndicate. Shandong Ruyi, Bank of America and KKR did not immediately respond to requests for comment. JP Morgan and BNP Paribas declined to comment.

Sandro, Maje and Claudie Pierlot sell dresses priced at around €200 (£182) in France and operate in what is classified as the accessible luxury market. Buoyant demand among the fast-growing middle classes, particularly in countries such as China, has boosted this segment.

The group's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 22 percent to €130 million in 2016.

Based on the enterprise value to EBITDA multiple of Italy's Moncler, another fast-growing fashion company, SMCP could be worth around €2 billion ($2.4 billion).

The group had more than 1,200 points of sale as of the end of 2016 across Europe, north America, the Middle East and Asia.

In June the company said it was considering a listing in Paris but that Shandong Ruyi would remain the majority shareholder in the long term.

Textile group Shandong Ruyi said on Thursday it planned to sell a stake of up to 1.9 percent in the company before the end of the year.

In 2016, after talks lasting at least six months, Shandong Ruyi bought a majority stake in SMCP from KKR for around 1.3 billion euros including debt, according to sources.

At the time, the Chinese group said the deal would combine the French firm's fashion know-how with its own business network in China, the world's second largest economy.

By Dasha Afanasieva; Editor: Adrian Croft, David Holmes.