French

cosmetics company L'Occitane will the US$707 million it raised in this week's

IPO to open 650 stores in the next five years.style="mso-spacerun: yes">  Much of the growth will be focused in

emerging markets like Russia, Brazil and China, where the company plans 40 new

stores.

face=Calibri>L'Occitane chose to list its shares on the Hong Kong stock

exchange, where it has a strong retail presence.style="mso-spacerun: yes">  The company currently operates 1,500

stores in 80 countries.

face=Calibri>The company floated 25% of its shares, which were purchased at the

top end of its range.  Demand for

shares vastly outpaced supply, with an insider telling the Financial Times that

investors ordered 100 times the number of available shares.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

face=Calibri>The US$2.8 billion valuation represents a hefty 21.9 multiple of

forward projected earnings for the year ending in March 2011.style="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

(Posted 30 June 2010)