CVC, investment fund behind Lipton and Douglas, going public in Amsterdam today

CVC is going public today. The investment fund behind brands like Lipton and cosmetic chain Douglas hopes to raise over 2 billion euros with its initial public offering in Amsterdam, Reuters reported.

CVC Capital Partners set the share price for its Amsterdam IPO at 14 euros, in the middle of its announced range of between 13 and 15 euros. The IPO is expected to be one of the biggest in Europe this year.

CVC itself is not very well known, but it is a big player in the financial world. It manages over 186 billion euros in investments and has stakes in over 125 companies worldwide. The Luxembourg company owns the luxury watch brand Breitling, the cosmetic chain Douglas, and tea brands like Lipton, Tazo, and Pukka, which it recently acquired from Unilever.

The fund has also invested 2 billion euros in Spanish professional football’s top La Liga. and 1.4 billion euros in Ligue 1, the French top football tier, to take a stake in the league’s media rights business.

In the Netherlands, CVC has a majority stake in AnQore, a chemical supplier located on the Chemelot site in Geleen, according to NOS.

CVC previously postponed its Amsterdam IPO due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip. The conflicts caused turbulence in the stock market, which created unfavorable conditions for going public. However, recent higher stock prices and improving investor sentiments have prompted a string of IPOs in Europe.