Business Maverick

Business Maverick

Grill Maker Weber’s IPO Goes From Sizzle to Fizzle

The new Weber Connect smart grilling hub, consisting of a meat thermometer, wireless transmitter and app, is displayed at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 9, 2020.

Weber Inc., showing the limits of barbecue grill makers going public, cut the size of its initial public offering by more than half and priced it below a marketed range to raise $252 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Palatine, Illinois-based company sold 18 million shares for $14 each on Wednesday, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the information wasn’t public yet. Weber had marketed almost 47 million shares for $15 to $17, which would have raised as much as $797 million.The company will have a market value of less than $4 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

A representative for Weber declined to comment. The IPO terms were reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal.

Weber fared worse in its IPO than Rival Traeger Inc., which raised $424 million in its listing in July. BBQGuys, an e-commerce platform for grills backed by retired American football stars Eli and Peyton Manning, has agreed to go public through blank-check firm Velocity Acquisition Corp. in a transaction that values the combined entity at $963 million.

For More: Grill Makers Are the Hottest Things in Post-Pandemic IPOs

Weber reported $963 million in sales in the six months through March, a jump of more than 60% from the same period last year. Its net income rose to $73.8 million from $23.6 million over the same period.

Weber launched its first grill in 1952. Since 2010, it’s been majority owned by BDT Capital Partners, the Chicago-based investment firm and merchant bank founded and led by Byron Trott.

Trott and BDT Capital Partners, as well as Weber’s management, are listed in the filing as being among its biggest shareholders. The company plans to use the IPO proceeds to buy back shares from its holding company and from some existing shareholders.

The offering is being led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Weber’s shares are set to begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WEBR.

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