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The European private equity group CVC Capital Partners is poised to announce its plans for an initial public offering as soon as Monday, kicking off one of the continent’s most highly anticipated listings this year.
CVC is targeting early next week to publicly launch its plans to list in Amsterdam, according to people familiar with its plans, who cautioned that no final decision had been made and an announcement could yet slip again.
Luxembourg-based CVC has €186bn of assets under management, with the bulk of that in its private equity strategy. The group gained prominence buying stakes in household-name brands from Debenhams to Formula One to the maker of PG Tips tea.
CVC has previously come close to going ahead with a listing, only to pull back because of tumultuous markets — first in May 2022 and then in November 2023.
The group was last valued at around €15bn when it sold a minority stake to Blue Owl in 2021.
Originally spun out from Citi’s London office around three decades ago, CVC has also expanded beyond buyouts into other businesses such as credit.
Last September the group bought a majority stake in Dutch infrastructure investor DIF Capital Partners in a deal worth about €1bn, giving it a foothold in an infrastructure market expected to benefit from big structural changes including the energy transition.
The group raised €26bn for the largest private equity fund in history last July, defying a broader fundraising drought that has left many rivals struggling to raise cash.
CVC’s planned listing comes amid a broader pick-up in IPOs and dealmaking, following a two-year slowdown.
Europe’s IPO market has had its strongest start since the pandemic, including the listing in Germany of the CVC-owned beauty retailer Douglas. However, Douglas shares sank 9 per cent on their first day of trading in March.
A representative for CVC declined to comment.