- Weber Inc. showing the limits of barbecue grill makers going public, cut the size of its initial public offering by more than half and priced it below a suggested range to raise $252 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The Paltine, Illinois-based company sold 18 million shares on Wednesday for $14 each, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information wasn't public yet. Weber had marketed nearly 47 million shares for $15 to $17, which would have raised as much as $797 million.
The company has a market value of less than $4 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
A representative for Weber declined to comment. The terms of IPO were previously reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Rival Traeger Inc. fared worse in its IPO than Weber, which raised $424 million from its listing in July. BBQGuys, an e-commerce platform for grills backed by retired American football stars Eli and Peyton Manning, has agreed to go public through Blank-Check firm Velocity Acquisition Corp. in a transaction that values the combined entity at $963 million.
Weber reported $963 million in sales during the six months to March, a rise of more than 60% from the same period last year. Its net income increased from $36 million to $73.8 million in the same period.
Weber launched its first grill in 1952. Since 2010, it has been a majority held by BDT Capital Partners, the Chicago-based investment firm and merchant bank founded and led by Byron Trott.
Trott and BDT Capital Partners, as well as Weber's management, are listed in the listing as being among its biggest shareholders. The company plans to use the IPO proceeds to buy back shares from its holding company and from some existing shareholders.
The offering is being led by JPMorgan Chase Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Weber's shares should join us on the New York Stock Exchange under WEBR symbol, which trading starts today.