Clarios International launched an initial public offering on Tuesday valuing the battery maker at US$11.2-billion, more than three times what a consortium led by Brookfield Asset Management Inc. paid for the company two years ago.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Clarios said in a regulatory filling it plans to sell 88.1 million shares between US$17 and US$21 each, which would bring in US$1.85-billion at the top end of that range, and value the company’s equity at US$11.2-billion. Clarios’s enterprise value, including debt, would be approximately US$18-billion.
Private equity investors Brookfield and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec bought Clarios from Johnson Controls International in 2019 for an enterprise value of US$13.2-billion, paying for the acquisition with US$3-billion of equity and US$10.2-billion of debt.
Entities affiliated with Toronto-based Brookfield and the Montreal-based Caisse will continue to hold 80.1 per cent of shares in Clarios after the offering, the company said.
Clarios sells its products in more than 140 countries, with a third of cars on the road globally using its batteries, according to its website. The Clarios IPO has been under way for more than two months and comes at a time when several high-profile startups, including online brokerage Robinhood and electric-vehicle firm Rivian, are planning to list their shares.
Clarios said in a regulatory filing that revenue dropped 11 per cent to US$7.6-billion for the year ended Sept.30, 2020, with a net loss of US$399-million as the COVID-19 pandemic dented demand. It had reported a profit of US$25-million a year earlier.
Clarios plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. BofA Securities and J.P. Morgan are lead underwriters for the Clarios offering.
With files from Reuters
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Andrew Willis