J. Crew Files for IPO

After months of rumors, it’s official: Apparel cataloger/retailer J. Crew Group has filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an initial public offering. J. Crew hopes to raise $200 million with the offering. Private equity firm Texas Pacific, which already has a controlling share of J. Crew, will buy $73.5 million worth of common shares.

For the most recent fiscal year, J. Crew had sales of $804.2 million, up nearly 17% from $690.0 million the previous year. During that time its net loss increased too, to $100.3 million from about $50.0 million the year before. But for the three months ended April 30, J. Crew posted net income of $4.9 million on sales of $210.5 million—a nice turnaround from the $23.8 million it had lost for the comparable quarter of last year.

The New York-based company intends to apply for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticket symbol “JCG.”