Rounding Up Retail Exits

PE-backed supermarket chain Roundy's has set its IPO terms. Through its IPO, Roundy's intends to sell about 11.4 million shares and its selling stockholders an additional 6.8 million shares for $10 to $12 apiece. The company has applied to list its stock on the NYSE under the symbol RNDY. Roundy's existing investors include Willis Stein & Partners, AlpInvest Partners and Norwest Equity Partners.

Since the beginning of 2007, PE investors have exited 47 retailers, according to the PitchBook Platform. Those PE firms showed a different strategy towards exits than the rest of private equity, with sales to strategic buyers (corporate acquisitions) and sales to other PE firms (secondary buyouts) each accounting for 38% of the exits and IPOs accounting for 24%. 2011 saw the continued recovery of exit flow in the industry, which has been on the rise since a low in 2008. 12 exits were completed in the Retail industry last year, just one deal shy of matching the five-year high of 13 in 2007.