FatFace, an English clothing company, ”began in 1988 with two guys enjoying life on the slopes in the French Alps and desperately trying to avoid working for a living. With money running out, Tim and Jules had a plan; print some sweatshirts and t-shirts, sell them at night, and ski during the day. With that simple formula, the FatFace brand was born with the name even being inspired by their favorite black mountain run in Val d’Isère, La Face.” According to their website, and their vision and values are that “absolutely everything we do is designed to be loved by all our customers for life outside the 9 to 5”.
Now has finally come a time that a company can no longer just sell t-shirts from their van in the Alps. Especially that they had opened up their 200th store back in 2012. The current owners of Fat Face include Bridgepoint, a private equity group, who owns a 78% stake since 2007 with the original founders of FatFace Tim Slade and Jules Leaver owning a 0.2% share. The IPO plan is expecting to raise $186M US Dollars. This would let the company to pay off debts and bank related fees that it has acquired through the course of operations. It will also allow the company to have an easier expansion into the US market which is its current and prime focus.
This Initial Public Offering would circulate about 25% of the company, while at the same time giving Bridgepoint an exit strategy. Because this is private equity groups ultimately want, to make money. The IPO will be advised by Citigroup Inc., Jefferies International, and Lazard Ltd.
