Moleskine Said to Seek 350 Million Euros in Italian IPO

Moleskine, the Italian maker of notebooks once favored by Ernest Hemingway, is seeking about 350 million euros ($455 million) in an initial public offering announced today, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

The company is seeking a valuation of about 700 million euros, said the people, who asked not to be named before the sale is completed. Appunti Sarl and Pentavest Sarl are selling a 50 percent stake of the company in the IPO, according to a term sheet obtained by Bloomberg News today.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., UBS AG (UBSN) and Mediobanca SpA (MB) are managing the sale in Italy, along with BNP Paribas SA, the terms showed. A price range will be announced by mid-March and the deal will be completed toward the end of the month, according to the terms.

Syntegra Capital, which owns about 68 percent of Moleskine, will retain a significant share in the company after the IPO, the company said last week. Appunti is indirectly controlled by Syntegra and Pentavest is controlled by Index Ventures Growth I (Jersey), according to a filing to the Italian market regulator Consob.

A spokesman for Syntegra didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesman for Moleskine declined to comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Francesca Cinelli in Milan at fcinelli@bloomberg.net Ruth David in London at rdavid9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jacqueline Simmons at jackiem@bloomberg.net

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Moleskine Owners Said to Seek 350 Million Euros in Italian IPO

Portrait of American author Ernest Hemingway, circa 1959. Photograph: PhotoQuest/Getty Images

Portrait of American author Ernest Hemingway, circa 1959. Photograph: PhotoQuest/Getty Images