Italy's Giochi Preziosi eyes IPO in 12-15 months
By Massimo Gaia
MILAN, March 22 (Reuters) - Giochi Preziosi, a leading Italian toy maker and retailer that plans to bring out a fashion doll to take on Mattel's MAT.N ubiquitous Barbie, will likely seek a bourse listing in 12-to-15 months, its chairman said on Thursday.
"We've been getting ready for some time, because we know (a listing) is a difficult challenge," Enrico Preziosi told a news conference about the company's 2007-2009 industrial plan.
Giochi, which makes and sales everything from models to video games of a variety of toy characters, is controlled by Ludica, a holding company 52 percent owned by 3i (III.L), a British private equity firm.
It is best known in Italy for Gormiti, a series of grotesque and futuristic figurines, 20 million pieces of which have been already been sold.
Giochi has already reached a deal with Mediaset (MS.MI), Italy's leading TV broadcaster, to produce a cartoon serial based on the game.
It is also in talks with News Corp's NWSa.N Fox to bring it to the United States.
Sergio Sambonet, who represents 3i in Italy and acts as vice chairman of Giochi, said the company would likely list 30 percent of its stock in an initial public offering (IPO) that could value all of Giochi at about 1.0 billion euros.
Giochi had yet to hire advisers for the IPO, Sambonet said, adding that 3i would likely remain a shareholder.
Sambonet said Giochi's multiples would be comparable to those of U.S. peers Mattel and Hasbro (HAS.N) at 11-to-12 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
TURNING A PROFIT
In the fiscal year ending June 30, Giochi is expected to post a net profit of some 6.7 million euros after suffering a loss last year, said Oddone Pozzi, one of the company's two chief executives.
At the EBITDA level, it was seen reaching 85 million euros, he said.
As part of the industrial plan, Giochi aims to raise EBITDA to nearly 94 million euros, net profit to 22 million euros and revenues to 820 million euros by 2009, he said.
It also plans to reduce its debt to below 170 million euros by 2009 from 230 million euros on Dec. 31, 2006, helped by the sale of real estate to Morgan Stanley (MS.N).
Giochi's other chief executive, Dario Berte, said the company planned to launch a series of fashion dolls to compete against the Barbie line. It would bring the dolls to the United States in July and Italy in the autumn.
Other plans include opening more stores, bringing the total number to 105 from 90 by 2009.
Giochi could make small acquisitions in order to expand abroad, Sambonet added. "We're looking at England, in particular," he said, adding that they were also looking for a partner in eastern Europe.
