Madison Dearborn to list Yankee Candle after sale fizzles out

Chicago-based private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners has reversed its plan of selling Yankee Candle Co Inc, and is now looking at listing the largest scented candle company in the US.

The company has hired Bank of America and Morgan Stanley to lead the offering, Bloomberg today reported, citing people with knowledge of the situation and added that the IPO may take place as soon as this year.

Madison Dearborn, which had acquired Yankee Candle in 2006 for around $1.6 billion, was seeking as much as $2 billion from the sale although it had long-term debt of $846 million, which had put off potential suitors (See: PE firm Madison Dearborn seeks to sell Yankee Candle).

Massachusetts-based Yankee Candle is the most-recognised name in the candle business in the US.

The company was founded in 1969 by 17-year-old Mike Kittredge. Too broke to buy his mother a present, Mike melted some crayons to make her a candle. A neighbour saw it and convinced Mike to sell the candle to her. With that small stake, he bought enough wax to make two candles - one for his mom's present, and another to sell. That was the birth of Yankee Candle.

Today, with over 150 fragrances, Yankee Candle offers the world's largest selection of candle and home fragrance scents. In addition to scented candles, it also provides a wide range of home fragrance products, car fresheners and candle accessories.

The company sells its products through over 500 company-owned retail stores across the US, and generated revenue of $844.2 million in 2012.