Mister Spex goes public

The shares of the eyewear retailer will be tradable on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange from Friday. The start-up wants to raise 375 million euros for 25 euros per share, with Mister Spex using 245 million euros for its growth.

Mister Spex will be listed on the stock exchange from July 2, and the company is now announcing information about its IPO: It is issuing 15 million shares at a unit price of 25 euros. This brings Mister Spex's proceeds to 375 million euros. The start-up intends to use 245 million euros of this for its expansion and the repayment of a bridging loan. The rest will go to the existing shareholders.

"The IPO is another milestone for the company," says founder Dirk Graber. "We will use the access to the capital markets to accelerate our international growth and secure our technological lead through further investments." The issue price gives the company a market capitalization of more than 800 million euros.

At the time of the IPO, the eyewear group Essilor Luxottica, which distributes Ray Ban eyewear, announced that it would increase its stake in Mister Spex and acquire new shares worth 50 million euros. In addition, the fund companies Janus Henderson and M&G are each investing 30 million euros. This means that 30 percent of the targeted proceeds from the IPO have already been secured.

Mister Spex was launched in 2007, initially selling glasses exclusively online and is now known as an omnichannel optician. The company operates 39 stores in Germany, Austria and Sweden. Stores are now to be opened in seven other countries where Mister Spex already sells its products.