Consumer intelligence company NIQ Global is targeting a valuation of up to $7.26 billion on a fully diluted basis in its US initial public offering (IPO), as private equity-backed listings begin to re-emerge after a recent slowdown.
The Chicago, Illinois-based company, which is backed by investment giants Advent International and KKR, aims to raise up to $1.20 billion by offering 50 million shares priced between $20 and $24 apiece, it said on Monday.
Private equity-backed IPOs slowed significantly in the second quarter, as tariff-driven volatility weighed on new listings. However, a rebound in equity markets is encouraging buyout firms to take their portfolio companies public.
Textbook publisher McGraw Hill, backed by billionaire Tom Gores’ Platinum Equity, also kicked off its US IPO roadshow on Monday.
NIQ‘s listing comes roughly four years after its $2.7 billion carve-out from Nielsen Holdings in 2021, when Advent International and James Peck, former CEO of TransUnion, acquired Nielsen’s Global Connect unit.
Competing with Circana, Kantar, and YouGov, NIQ provides brands and retailers with insights into consumer shopping behavior to help fine-tune their products and strategies.
The company operates in 90 countries and caters to roughly 23,000 companies including Coca-Cola, Walmart, and Sony.
Advent will control the majority of the voting power of NIQ after the offering. IPO proceeds will be used to repay debt and other purposes, the company said.
NIQ, which has tapped more than 20 Wall Street banks for the IPO, will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NIQ.”
J.P. Morgan, BofA Securities, and UBS Investment Bank are the lead underwriters for the offering.
Reuters
