Discount furniture retailer Bob's Discount Furniture Inc (BOBS.US) plans to launch an IPO in the US and raise up to $370 million.

As the wave of private equity-backed companies going public continues to heat up, Bob's Discount Furniture Inc., backed by Bain Capital, is seeking to raise up to approximately $370 million through an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States. According to documents filed by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, Bob's, headquartered in Manchester, Connecticut, plans to issue 19.45 million shares of stock at a price range of $17 to $19 per share. At the upper end of the price range, the company's IPO valuation is expected to reach around $2.5 billion. The filing shows that after the IPO, investment funds and affiliates managed by Bain Capital are expected to hold approximately three-quarters of the company's common stock, maintaining their controlling position. Bob's IPO joins a rush of private equity-backed portfolio companies making a move into the capital markets. Previously, compressor manufacturer Copeland, backed by Blackstone Group, filed for an IPO in secret, and York Space Systems, under the ownership of AE Industrial Partners, is also seeking to raise up to $544 million through an IPO. However, the IPO environment for consumer companies still faces challenges. Concerns about the resilience of American consumers, the tariff policies of the Trump administration, and higher interest rates continue to dampen the enthusiasm for IPOs in consumer-facing industries such as retail and apparel brands, leading them to lag behind other industry sectors. Bob's currently has over 200 stores in 26 states in the U.S. and plans to expand to over 500 stores by 2035. Bain Capital acquired the company from Apax Partners and KarpReilly at the end of 2013. Founded in 1991, Bob's employs a strategy of "discount furniture retail," selling furniture products at prices lower than its discount competitors, targeting the mass consumer market. Financially, for the nine months ending on September 28th, the company reported an adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $164 million, with a nearly 11% growth in same-store sales. During the same period, the company achieved a net profit of $80.7 million and revenue of $1.72 billion, higher than the net profit of $49.3 million and revenue of $1.43 billion during the same period the previous year. The IPO is being led by JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Canada, and UBS Group. The company's stock is expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "BOBS."