Perhaps it should have waited longer.
Two years ago, the beauty products maker Coty weighed going public but pulled back when markets turned rocky. The company has now taken the plunge, and its shares had a lackluster debut on Thursday â€" when world stock markets were again nervous.
Shares of Coty opened flat at their offering price, $17.50, and were down 0.9 percent in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange. It is one of the biggest initial public offerings in the United States so far this year.
Shareholders, including the wealthy Reimann family of Germany and investment firms Berkshire Partners and Rhone Capital. sold 57.14 million Class A shares of Coty on Wednesday, raising a bit less than $1 billion. The sale valued the company at about $6.7 billion.
The Reimanns will continue to control the company through its voting shares. The family, through its investment vehicle, Joh. A. Benckiser, Coty for $440 million from Pfizer in 1992.
Coty’s brands now include Calvin Klein, Chloé, Davidoff, Marc Jacobs, and philosophy. The company says it is No. 2 in fragrances worldwide and the sixth biggest in the world in color cosmetics. The company sells its products â€" endorsed by Beyoncé and Katy Perry â€" in more than 130 countries.
