Puig debuts on the Stock Exchange and predicts "a promising future"

Emotion. Teary eyes. Hugs. Applause. Satisfaction. Pride for all that has been achieved and hope for an even better future. The different generations of the Puig family have been immersed this Friday in an emotional tsunami during the symbolic bell-ringing ceremony, held at the Barcelona Stock Exchange. For a family company with 110 years of history, the leap to the stock market represents a true milestone and opens a new stage that, in the words of its president, Marc Puig, is presented as "promising".

With this historic operation, the family has put a price on its business ---Puig has been valued on the Stock Exchange at 13,900 million euros---, has structured the process of succession and generational handover, and has obtained new resources to finance its ambitious growth plan, which aims to consolidate the group among the main global companies in the beauty, cosmetics and fashion sector, rubbing shoulders with large international firms such as L'Oréal, LVMH, Estée Lauder or Kering. All this without losing or giving up control of the company, quite the opposite: the Puigs have gone public through a sophisticated financial operation that allows them to maintain 71.7% of the shareholding and 92.5% of the political or voting rights.

Puig's debut in the markets is also very important for Barcelona, as it means ending the long drought of operations that the emblematic Stock Exchange building on Paseo de Gràcia has experienced. In fact, to find a similar operation of a leap to the continuous market, although of a much lower volume, one has to go back to 2007, when Fluidra debuted. Everything indicates that we will not have to wait so many years again to see a bell-ringing in the Barcelona square, as Europastry, the bakery and frozen dough group of the Gallés family, is already warming up to go public in the coming months.

The exceptional nature of the event experienced this Friday in Barcelona, attested to by the numerous press that attended, is not for less: Puig's stock market debut is the most important in the world so far this year and the most relevant in the Spanish market since 2015, when Aena debuted. Several hundred people accompanied Marc Puig in the countdown and in the symbolic ringing of the bell that marked the start of trading of the perfumery group's shares at noon. This audience was made up, fundamentally, of family members and the company's management team, along with representatives of the board of directors ---such as Jordi Constans--- and other guests such as bankers, advisors, and investors. No trace of politicians.

Although the capacity was limited, a greater presence of Barcelona's business class was missed, however. Only the presidents of three of the city's main business organizations attended: Josep Sánchez Llibre (Foment del Treball), Jaume Guardiola (Cercle d'Economia) and Maite Barrera (Barcelona Global). Also present was Antoni Esteve, representative of the Esteve family, with whom the Puigs share ownership of Isdin. Among the bankers who attended the stock market debut, Jaume Massana, business director and head of CaixaBank's entire network, stands out. Two major absences must also be taken into account: the president of Banco Sabadell, Josep Oliu, who is a director of Puig and is finalizing a response to BBVA's interest in acquiring the entity he leads, was not seen; nor was Ángel Simón, CEO of CriteriaCaixa, who has invested 425 million euros to buy 3.05% of Puig's shares.

Before the bell rang, Marc Puig, in his speech, paid a heartfelt tribute to his predecessors and thanked the more than 11,000 employees of the group for their work. "There have been twists and turns and ups and downs along the way. We have been able to overcome all difficulties and it is a source of pride to see how far we have come. We have achieved goals that we ourselves could not have imagined," he highlighted, after expressing his satisfaction with the high interest and appetite investors have shown in investing in the company. Puig's shares debuted on the stock market at a price of 24.50 euros, at the highest end of the valuation range that had been estimated: more than 13.9 billion, which makes it the 15th company in the ranking of Spanish companies by capitalization, placing it just after Repsol. It is expected to become part of the Ibex 35 by the end of the year. When trading began freely on the stock market from noon, shares rose by up to 8%, reaching 26.50 euros, although throughout the day the value returned to the initial point of 24.50 euros, so this first day of trading closed flat.

"If we have flown so high, it is because we have stood on the shoulders of giants," said Puig's president, referring to his grandfather, the group's founder, and the four brothers—among them his father—who catapulted the company to success, internationalizing and diversifying it. "Our parents bet on design, good taste, and modernity; and our generation has known how to take up the baton," he expressed. "My grandfather told us: feu pinya, que junts sereu més forts. We have known how to do it. I am convinced that our predecessors today would be very proud," Puig emphasized, in an event that also served to present the company's new visual identity and new logo.

The president has highlighted that the family "until now has managed a private company as if it were listed and that, from now on, we will manage a listed company as if it were private," in reference to the fact that they will continue to be guided by family values, which demand always having "the long lights" on and thinking about the next generation. "We will continue to apply the Puig way: I believe we have a promising future ahead," concluded the businessman, who received a long applause from the audience.

Owner of brands such as Paco Rabanne, Charlotte Tilbury, Carolina Herrera, Nina Ricci, or Jean Paul Gaultier, Puig recorded a record net sales figure of 4,304 million euros in 2023, which represents a 19% increase compared to 2022. Net profit rose to 465 million euros (+16%). The company controls 17 brands and operates in 32 countries.