CVC, RBS raise $290 million in Samsonite stake sale-term sheet

Hong Kong, Jan 24 : Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and Royal Bank of Scotland sold a combined $290 million stake in Hong Kong-listed luggage maker Samsonite International,.

The 138.3 million shares were sold at HK$16.20 each, a 4.9 percent discount to Samsonite's the close of HK$17.04, the terms showed. That would put the total deal at HK$2.24 billion, with about 65 percent of the shares sold by CVC (CVC.UL) and the remainder by RBS (RBS.L).

Samsonite's shares fell 1.6 percent in early trading in Hong Kong to HK$16.76, compared with a 0.3 percent gain in the benchmark Hang Seng index (.HSI), but were still above the selldown price.

The latest sale meant CVC reduced its stake in Samsonite to about 9.7 percent and RBS to 5.1 percent.

Goldman Sachs (GS) was the sole underwriter on the selldown.

Luxembourg-based Samsonite listed in Hong Kong in 2011 in a $1.25 billion IPO. CVC and RBS jointly raised about $821 million by selling into the IPO, although Samsonite's shares languished following the deal.

CVC and RBS have agreed to a 90-day lock-up during which they will refrain from selling any more shares into the market, the terms showed.

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