Perfumier Coty Inc to raise $700 million in IPO

Coty Inc, one of the world's largest fragrance and beauty products company, is planning to raise $700 million through an initial public offering (IPO), a month after its larger rival Avon Products rejected its $10.7-billion unsolicited takeover offer.

The Paris and New York-based company, which makes fragrances under names of celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, David Beckham, Jennifer Lopez, Celine Dion and Halle Berry, said in a yesterday regulatory filing that it indents to raise $700 million in an IPO.

Coty did not say whether it would be listed on the New York or Nasdaq Stock Exchange, nor gave an estimated price range or reveal how many shares would be offered, but said that it will list its stock under the "COTY" ticker symbol.

With annual turnover of around $4 billion, privately-owned Coty was founded in Paris in 1904 by François Coty, who is credited with founding the modern fragrance industry. The company holds a 48-per cent share of the US fragrance market.

Coty develops and manufactures beauty care products that include fragrances, toiletries, and colour cosmetics, and skin care, sun care, and personal care products. Its Jennifer Lopez perfume has raked in $1 billion in sales since being introduced in 2002.

The Coty brand portfolio is distributed in prestige and ultra-prestige stores and includes Calvin Klein, Davidoff, Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker, Adidas, Beyoncé Knowles, Celine Dion, David and Victoria Beckham, Esprit, Pierre Cardin, Playboy, Shania Twain, Stetson, and Tonino Lamborghini among others.