Graff Diamonds has put its Hong Kong initial public offering on hold, citing “adverse market conditions.” According to
a
Financial Times
report,
the London jeweler received orders for just half of its $1 billion target less than two days before its deadline.
Company managers and advisers had traveled to New York and had planned to meet more than 80 investors, the
FT
article said. Orders had appeared to be on target after a round of similar meetings in Asia, according to the report.
According to
an Associated Press
report, Graff’s decision to pull the IPO “appears to have been made overnight.”
The
FT
article said Graff had wanted to use the funds to triple its stores in Asia over the next two years and finance a reorganization that included buying “a substantial diamond inventory” from founder and chairman Laurence Graff. According to the report, the aborted IPO will not affect the store rollouts, but the restructuring will likely be put on hold. (Sources:
Financial Times,
May 31, 2012; Associated Press, May 31, 2012.)
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