By Arasu Kannagi Basil
April 6 (Reuters) – Ventilation and filtration systems provider Madison Air Solutions said on Monday it was targeting a valuation of up to $13.2 billion in its U.S. initial public offering, as companies continue to navigate challenging market conditions for new listings.
The Chicago, Illinois-based company is seeking up to $2.23 billion by offering roughly 82.7 million shares priced between $25 and $27 apiece.
The U.S. IPO market has struggled to gain traction over the past two months as prolonged market volatility linked to the ongoing Middle East conflict has slowed activity. Still, some corporate issuers, including defensible industrial names, have continued to steam ahead.
“Companies aren’t moving ahead right now unless they have a compelling plan to deploy IPO proceeds,” said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs.
“This includes ‘real economy’ companies, like manufacturing, energy infrastructure, defense, and real estate. Particularly in areas that have tailwinds like AI-driven growth.”
Madison Air has benefited from the explosive data center buildout as the rapid growth of artificial intelligence fuels demand for advanced cooling equipment to manage heat from power-intensive servers.
Its brands include Nortek Air Solutions, Nortek Data Center Cooling and Big Ass Fans, which provide air quality and thermal management products for commercial, industrial and data center applications.
The industrial firm was formed under the leadership of Larry Gies, founder and CEO of privately held Madison Industries, through a series of acquisitions beginning in 2017, according to its website.
Cornerstone investors Durable Capital Partners, Morgan Stanley’s Counterpoint Global, and HRTG GPE have separately indicated interest in purchasing up to $525 million of shares in the offering.
Separately, Larry Gies’ Madison Industries plans to buy $100 million of Madison Air shares in a concurrent private placement.
Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Jefferies and Wells Fargo Securities are the joint lead book-running managers. Madison Air will list on the NYSE under the symbol “MAIR”.
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Tasim Zahid)
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