By Arno Schuetze and Abhinav Ramnarayan
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Swedish pest control group Anticimex is finalising preparations for an initial public offering in Stockholm that could value the company at around 63 billion Swedish crowns ($7.60 billion), people close to the matter said.
Anticimex’s owners, including private equity firm EQT, hope to lock in high stock market valuations, the people said.
The final timing of the IPO has not yet been decided, but it could launch either early next month or in late April, they said.
The bulk of the stock on offer is expected to come from existing shareholders, while new shares worth roughly 3 billion crowns could give the company a valuation of 63 billion crowns after the capital increase, they added.
Anticimex, founded in Sweden in 1934, offers pest inspections, sanitation, treatment and digital monitoring systems, as well as washroom products and fire protection equipment. The company name is derived from Latin words and means “against bedbugs”.
In 2019, the company which competes with the likes of Rentokil and Rollins, posted revenues of about 8 billion crowns.
EQT acquired Anticimex in 2012 and since then strengthened the group with more than 200 add-on acquisitions, expanding its geographical reach from five to 18 countries. It also made Anticimex focus on digital pest control which relies on smart devices detecting infestations.
In 2019, EQT brought in Swedish investor Melker Schorling and GIC as minority shareholders, in transactions valuing Anticimex at 3.6 billion euros ($4.37 billion).
Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and SEB are organising the float as so called global coordinators with the help of Bank of America, Citi, BNP Paribas, ABG and Nordea, the sources said.
EQT declined to comment, while the banks also declined to comment or had no immediate comment.
($1 = 8.2932 Swedish crowns)
($1 = 0.8235 euros)
(Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Abhinav Ramnarayan; Editing by Susan Fenton)
