(Bloomberg) -- Knaus Tabbert GmbH, the German maker of camper vans and motor homes, said it's aiming for an initial public offering in Frankfurt, lending fuel to a rebounding market for European listings.
The company expects to raise 20 million euros ($24 million) from selling new shares, it said in a statement Tuesday. The offering also will include a sale by Knaus Tabbert's owners, Dutch investors Wim de Pundert and Klaas Meertens. Knaus Tabbert didn't provide details on the size of this portion of the offering but said it aims to have about 50% of its shares available for trading.
The size of the sale of existing shares will be larger than the new share sale, company executives said on a call with journalists. Knaus Tabbert has been meeting potential investors virtually and will continue to do so, they said.
Bloomberg News reported last month that the company had started gauging investor demand for a potential listing. Knaus Tabbert is seeking to take advantage of surging demand for camper vans in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The pipeline of German deals is steadily expanding. KKR & Co. is speaking to fund managers about a listing of defense supplier Hensoldt Holding Germany GmbH, Bloomberg reported last month, while Auto1 Group GmbH, the online used-car marketplace, is also ramping up preparations for a planned IPO, Bloomberg reported last week.
Only three companies have listed on German exchanges this year, raising about $364 million, a massive drop from the more than $4 billion raised over the same period in 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Volatile markets and the economic impact of the pandemic cramped new listing activity for much of the year, but rallying equity indexes have reopened the market to companies benefiting from, or immune to, virus-induced lockdowns.
HTP Investments, run by De Pundert and Meertens, bought Knaus Tabbert in 2009 and the two men own about 97% of its shares. The company, based in Jandelsbrunn in southeastern Germany, makes recreational vehicles under brands including Knaus, Tabbert and Morelo.
It generated about 780 million euros of revenue in 2019 with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 15% between 2017 and 2019, according to the statement. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization came to 64 million euros.
The company expects revenue and earnings to remain flat this year, Chief Financial Officer Marc Hundsdorf said on the call. Revenue is expected to grow 10% to 12% in each of the coming years as demographics change, young people take up “caravanning” and regional tourism becomes popular, with people doing short trips in addition to their main once-a-year holiday, Chief Executive Wolfgang Speck said.
The executives declined to comment on the company's expected market value, but here's a look at other players in the industry:
| Company | Revenue 2019 | Adj. Ebitda 2019 | Market Capitalization |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winnebago Industries | $2b | $180m | $1.8b |
| Thor Industries | $7.8b | $511m | $5.2b |
| Trigano SA | $2.8b | $283m | $2.5b |
| Knaus Tabbert | $935m | $77m | To be determined |
Jefferies Group LLC, UniCredit SpA and ABN Amro Bank NV are arranging the offering.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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