Argand Partners (Argand), a New York- and San Francisco Bay Area-based industrials private equity firm, has announced that its portfolio company, Cherry AG (Cherry), a global designer and manufacturer of high-precision keyboard PC gaming mechanical switch technology, has successfully completed its IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
At the final offer price of EUR32 per share, the total volume of the IPO was significantly oversubscribed. Cherry’s 24,300,000 shares began trading this morning, 29 June, 2021, under the ticker C3RY on the regulated market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse).
The total number of shares and the final offer price corresponds to a market capitalisation of approximately EUR778 million. The total volume of primary and secondary shares placed in the IPO amounts to approximately EUR416 million.
The Company’s gross proceeds from the placement of the 4,300,000 new shares amounts to EUR138 million. Cherry intends to use the net proceeds from the IPO to (i) fuel organic growth, in particular to advance and expand Cherry’s position as a global brand and innovation leader, (ii) drive inorganic growth through selective acquisitions, and (iii) repay certain outstanding debt in connection with a refinancing of existing debt.
Heather Faust, Managing Partner at Argand, says: “We are thrilled to support this significant milestone in Cherry’s history, and realise significant value for our investors. Cherry is a world-class company and well positioned to advance and expand its position as a global brand and innovation leader. We are delighted by the strong institutional shareholder support the company received, and the extremely positive feedback from investors throughout the process. We look forward to continuing to support Cherry’s management team as they pursue further organic and inorganic growth.”
Hauck & Aufhäuser acted as Sole Global Coordinator and Joint Bookrunner, and ABN AMRO (in cooperation with ODDO BHF SCA) and MM Warburg & CO acted as Joint Bookrunners for the IPO.
