Amer Sports Inc (NYSE:AS) shares started trading on Thursday after the maker of Wilson tennis rackets and Arc’teryx outdoor clothing raised $1.37 billion in its discounted initial public offering, though its shares opened slighty higher in early trading.
The group, which also owns Salomon, Atomic, and Peak Performance brands, last month said it aimed to raise IPO up to $1.8 billion with an offer price of between $16 and $18.
However, the IPO was priced at $13 per share by its appointed investment banks, led by Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JP Morgan and Morgan StanIey.
Amer, which is headquartered in Finland and remains 56% owned by China's Anta Sports, was valued at roughly $6.3 billion in the IPO.
Its market cap crept higher in initial trading as the shares opened at $13.40.
The company was delisted from Nasdaq Helsinki in September 2019 after being bought by a consortium led by Anta and including fellow Chinese giants Tencent Holdings (HKG:0700, OTC:TCEHY) and FountainVest Partners, as well as Anamered Investments, the vehicle of Lululemon's billionaire founder Chip Wilson.
"The listing is only the starting point of the next phase in our journey as we accelerate the delivery of our vision to become a global leader in premium sports and outdoor brands," Amer said in a statement.
Amer, which reported $5.5 billion of debt as at the end of September 2023, with a net loss of $114 million reported for the first nine months of that year.
According to a Reuters report, some investors were concerned about the company's growing reliance on sales from China, while a source working on the deal told the Financial Times that Amer and BrightSpring had been affected by investor caution towards companies with significant debt levels.
Amer is the second large IPO in New York to price below its target range so far this year, with healthcare group BrightSpring last week raising $633 million for a $2.2 billion valuation, which was less than expected.