B&M expected to confirm floatation plans next week

UK discount retailer B&M is poised to announce plans next week for a London share listing in a deal which could be worth at least £2 billion, several people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The company, which sells everything from greenhouses to trampolines, has been owned by US private equity fund Clayton Dubilier & Rice since 2012. It has grown to over 370 stores and 17,000 staff across the UK since being founded in the northern city of Blackpool in 1978.

Last month it was reported that B&M was seeking to refinance £585 million of loans ahead of a potential listing.

B&M made pre-tax profits of £88.3 million in 2012. A valuation of £2 billion would give the firm a multiple of nearly 23 times earnings, although sources cautioned that the deal would likely be in excess of that figure.

The company's flotation plans come two months after Poundland, another British discount chain, had its London debut.

Poundland, which was backed by private equity firm Warburg Pincus and has over 500 UK and Ireland stores, currently has a market capitalization of £765.19 million and is trading at almost 29 times pre-tax earnings.

However shares have fallen around 13.5 percent since its debut and were last trading at 307 pence each at 1553 GMT.

The B&M listing is being run by Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

B&M declined to comment.

Source : Reuters
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/05/15/uk-b-m-retail-ipo-idUKKBN0DV1II20140515