Italian Design Brands presses ahead with IPO after Tamburi investment

​Italian Design Brands (IDB), a hub of Italian furniture and lighting companies, said on Tuesday it was carrying on with plans to list on the Milan bourse as a new investor acquired a majority stake in its parent company.

Merchant bank Tamburi Investment Partners said late on Monday it had agreed to buy 50.7% of IDB's parent Investindesign from existing backer Private Equity Partners.

The deal, which is contingent on a successful IPO, values IDB's equity at 220 million euros ($241.3 million) and includes an option for Tamburi to acquire an additional 20% stake.

IDB will now offer shares in its IPO at a fixed price of 10.88 euros, implying a market capitalisation of more than 290 million euros.

It is offering newly issued shares worth 70 million euros, as well as some existing shares.

The company, whose brands include Gervasoni furniture and Davide Groppi lighting, expects to start taking stock orders from investors next week alongside the publication of the IPO prospectus.

IDB's efforts come after a slow start to 2023's IPO activity in Europe and the United States, after soaring interest rates and economic uncertainty saw the market almost grind to a halt last year.

Italian gambling firm Lottomatica, backed by Apollo Global Management, priced its IPO at the bottom of its targeted range last week and will debut on the stock exchange on Wednesday.

Bankers hope more companies will go public in the second half of the year, encouraged by early movers like IDB and Lottomatica.