Ares-Owned Neiman Marcus Going Public

When Neiman Marcus was sold two years ago, the former owners were entertaining private buyers while the company was proceeding with plans for an IPO. Neiman Marcus filed for an IPO in June 2013, but never went public, as Ares Management and Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board bought it for $6 billion in October of that year.

Neiman Marcus Group Inc. says it had $4.84 billion in revenue in its last fiscal year.

High-end retailer Neiman Marcus is planning to list its shares on public stock markets after a decade-long run under private ownership.

The retailer, which opened its first store in Dallas in 1907, was previously a publicly traded company, until it was acquired for $5.1 billion in 2005 by two private equity firms, Warburg Pincus and Texas Pacific Group.

The company operates 41 Neiman Marcus stores nationwide and two Bergdorf Goodman stores, in addition to its My Theresa brand for younger consumers in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. It also operates online sales channels for Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, which accounted for 24% of total transactions in fiscal 2014.

Filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show Neiman will use its IPO proceeds to pay back debt of $122.2 million.

The company filed for an offering of up to $100 million, but that is a placeholder amount and is likely to change.

The global luxury fashion market is projected to grow from $308 billion in 2015 to $354 billion in 2019, according to Euromonitor worldwide, Neiman said in its SEC filing.

The company, which also sells merchandise designed by fashion houses such as Chanel, Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton, gets about 40 percent of its revenue from its “InCircle loyalty program” members, who spend about 11 times more than other customers.