Belron, the world's largest windshield repair specialist and the owner of Safelite and Autoglass, has picked a group of banks to steer a possible IPO, according to people who requested anonymity because the talks are confidential. The current lineup includes Bank of America, BNP Paribas, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, with the option to add more firms as the process advances. Representatives for Belron and all four banks declined to comment.
Selecting banks marks the next move after majority owner D'Ieteren Group said a month ago it was weighing strategic options for Belron, including the possibility of a listing. On Thursday, D'Ieteren's shares climbed as much as 5.1%, the biggest intraday gain in about a month.
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Belron operates Safelite across the US and the Autoglass brand in the UK, while also running Carglass throughout Europe. The company completed 17 million jobs last year and recorded €6.7 billion in sales. D'Ieteren owns just over half of Belron; the balance is owned by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Hellman & Friedman, GIC Pte., and BlackRock Inc., among other investors. All of them declined to comment.
A Belron float would be a rare boost for Europe's equity markets, which still haven't bounced back from the post pandemic drought in new listings. IPO activity in Europe continues to lag Asia and the US, where a push to fund artificial intelligence development has driven a surge in offerings. Belron favors Amsterdam for a debut, and based on Bloomberg News reporting last month, could aim for a valuation above €30 billion.
Lining up banks is the first real signal a listing is coming. Join Market Briefs free and watch the process.
