Swedish Sex-Toy Maker LELO Is Said to Explore London Listing
Swedish Sex-Toy Maker LELO Is Said to Explore London Listing
(Bloomberg) -- LELO, a Swedish sex-toy designer that has been described as the Apple Inc. of the pleasure-products industry, is exploring an initial public offering in London, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Stockholm-based firm is working with advisers on a potential share sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified because discussions are private. LELO could be valued at more than 1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion) in an IPO, which may happen in the second half of next year, the people said.
A representative for LELO declined to comment.
The potential listing comes amid a pickup in deals in the industry for intimate pleasure products. Lovehoney, the British maker of Fifty Shades of Grey-themed erotic accessories, agreed to merge with German rival WOW Tech Group in August to create a 1 billion-euro ($1.2 billion) company.
The global sexual wellbeing market was valued at $33.6 billion last year and is forecast to increase to more than $52.4 billion in revenue in 2028, according to a report from Grand View Research.
LELO makes sex toys for women and men including the Inez, a gold-plated vibrator that costs more than 10,000 pounds, among the most expensive on the market, as well as condoms. The brand was started in the front room of a townhouse in Stockholm by three industrial designers in 2003. It now has offices in California, Sydney and Shanghai and sells its LELO and PicoBong-branded products in more than 40 markets, according to its website.
The Silicon Valley Business Journal in 2014 said LELO aspires to be the Apple of the pleasure products industry, citing design-driven products and technologies with high-end prices.
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