Coventry, UK, Mar. 31--Amtico, the former floormaking unit of Courtaulds, is set to float on the London Stock Exchange as early as July, with a market capitalisation of up to £150 million, according to The Times.
Amtico, which sells upmarket floor tiles, plans to raise about £20 million of new funds when it lists, giving it a market capitalisation between £120 million and £150 million.
Electra Partners Europe, the private equity owner of Amtico, said yesterday that it was talking to investment banks and expected to appoint an adviser in July to manage the float. Nigel McConnell, Electra’s managing director, said: “The Amtico brand is very well known in the UK and we would aim to float the company in the third or fourth quarter. Once we have appointed a bank, the process can happen quite fast.”
McConnell said that Amtico would refinance its debt by the end of June before setting the float in motion.
Electra backed a £45 million management buyout of Amtico, based in Coventry, from Courtaulds, the textiles group, in December 1995.
Amtico was founded in Coventry in 1965 as a joint venture between Courtaulds, the textiles group, and American Biltrite, the US flooring and footwear company, which later sold its interest to Courtaulds. It now employs more than 800 staff in Britain, Germany, Australia, France, Sweden and the US, and sells floors made from eleven materials, including shell, glass and marble.
Amtico made pre-tax profits of £7.3 million on sales of £49.3 million in the year to March 31, 2003.
John Harris, 67, who led the 1995 buyout of Amtico, will retire as chief executive today. He is succeeded by Jonathan Duck, former acquisitions director of the leisure retail division of Bass, which became Mitchells & Butlers.
