Prosthetics manufacturer Ottobock is planning an initial public offering later this year, in a boost for the German stock market which has struggled to attract new listings.
The family-owned company is targeting the second half of the year for the IPO and is aiming to raise about €1bn, according to several people familiar with its thinking. They added that the plans had not yet been finalised and could change depending on market conditions.
Two of the people said some of the money raised would be used to pay back a €1.1bn loan that Ottobock owner, Näder Holding, took out last year to buy back a minority stake from private equity investor EQT.
Ottobock has mandated Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, BNP and law firm Freshfields to prepare for its debut, the people said.
According to preliminary results published in January, Ottobock’s revenues rose from €1.5bn in 2023 to €1.6bn last year. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation also increased, from €280mn to €325mn.
Steady revenues from healthcare systems, as well as demand driven by the Ukraine war and other conflicts, made the company attractive for investors, people familiar with the matter said. Europe and the US account for most of its sales.
Ottobock said it was “continuously evaluat[ing] all possible options” including a potential IPO but added that “no decision has been made in this regard so far”.
The company’s owner Hans Georg Näder told German newspaper Handelsblatt last year that the company was “ready for an IPO” and that it was “just waiting for the right market conditions”.
Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and BNP declined to comment. Freshfields and Näder Holding did not respond to a request for comment.
Ottobock is the latest company considering an IPO in Germany to take advantage of the more optimistic environment. The soaring stock market, falling inflation and some successful floats last year after a long period of subdued activity have created more positive sentiment among investors, bankers and lawyers.
Other IPO candidates for the first half of this year include drugmaker Stada and private equity owned bank OLB.
Ottobock abandoned a previous IPO attempt in 2022 at a valuation of up to €6bn, after Russia invaded Ukraine and shares in other listed medical device companies such as Denmark’s Coloplast and Swiss group Straumann dropped sharply.
Näder Holding subsequently bought back a 20 per cent stake from EQT: the firm had become a minority shareholder in 2017. To finance the transaction, Näder Holding borrowed €1.1bn from a consortium led by another private equity group, KKR.
The terms of the loan have not been made public but Ottobock stressed “there is no time pressure” for an IPO.
