Luxury shoe company Jimmy Choo narrows range for IPO

The luxury shoe company Jimmy Choo has narrowed the range for its initial public offering in London and could be valued at up to $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the discussions, The New York Times reported.

The UK shoe brand is expected to price its offering at £1.40 to £1.60 a share (about $2.25 to $2.57), valuing the company at up to $1 billion, the report said.

The company had hoped to price its offering at £1.40 to £1.80 a share but would be ''fully covered,'' or have sufficient commitments from investors to proceed, within the new range, the person said.

According to commentators it was not uncommon in Europe for the price range of offerings to narrow following discussions with investors. Recent weeks had seen the company conduct a road show for investors.

The company is expected to sell at least 25 per cent of its new holding company, Jimmy Choo Ltd, and start trading this month, in what would be the first publicly traded, stand-alone luxury footwear brand.

Other recent IPOs had failed to enthuse investors with Zalando, a German online clothing seller similar to Zappos in the US, and while the German technology company Rocket Internet had traded much below the offer prices after its debuts in Frankfurt this month.

Meanwhile, The Telegraph said the company was understood to have investor support for pricing its shares between 140p and 160p, valuing the business at up to £620 million.

The company gained popularity when its shoes were feted by Sarah Jessica Parker's character in the American television show Sex and the City. The company's shoes are typically sold for between £300 and £600 a pair.

The company's owners, JAB Holdings, the investment arm of the German billionaire Reimann family, revealed plans to list at least 25 per cent of the company in September. However, with the falling markets investors became concerned about the health of the global economy.

The FTSE 100 had plummeted 7 per cent in the past month with the spread of the Ebola virus, the conflict in the Middle East and worries over  the European economic powerhouse Germany was running out of steam.

According to sources close to the flotation the lowering of the price range was not a reflection of the global equities sell-off but was more typical of the company wanting a ''pop'' in the share price once it had debuted on the London Stock Market.