MADRID (Reuters) -Uncertainty in the market for new companies and high interest rates are hindering Spanish fashion retailer Tendam’s plans for an initial public offering (IPO), its chief executive officer said on Monday.
“It will be difficult for medium-sized companies to go public unless interest rates are lowered and the outcome of the presidential election in the United States becomes clear,” Jaume Miquel told a business event.
In June, Tendam postponed its IPO plans to after the summer due to the effects of political turmoil on stock markets.
Spain’s third-largest fashion retailer, which owns brands such as Cortefiel and Pedro del Hierro, had planned to launch the IPO before February 2025.
However, Miquel said it was now too complicated for a retail company to go public until the uncertainties are resolved.
“The door’s neither closed shut nor open. The company’s ready to be listed,” he said, adding that sales were expected to increase between 6% and 8% in 2024 compared to last year.
Private equity firms CVC Capital Partners and PAI Partners each own nearly half of the company.
Tendam is looking to expand its fashion brands in Mexico and countries in the Balkan region while keeping an eye on the United States, but Miquel ruled out expanding to Asian nations such as China as he sees no room there for European retailers.
“We believe China will continue to be an opportunity for luxury … but the rest of the market will be for Chinese brands,” he said.
(Reporting by Corina Pons; Writing by David Latona; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Mark Potter)
