FullBeauty reportedly exploring a 1.5 billion IPO

Plus-size fashion company FullBeauty Brands Inc is reportedly exploring a sale or an initial public offering (IPO) which would value the privately held fashion retailer at more than 1.5 billion dollars, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.

According to sources close to the matter quoted by Reuters. An auction for the company is already underway and has attracted interest from several private equity firms.

It is noteworthy that back to March, Bloomberg News reported that FullBeauty was working with banks on an IPO.

The New York-based company, owned since February 2013 by private equity firms Charlesbank Capital Partners and Webster Capital, is working with investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) on the potential sale, the people said this week.

FullBeauty has also appointed investment banks, including JPMorgan and Jefferies LLC, to lead an initial public offering as an alternative path should the auction fail to meet the company owners' valuation expectations, further revealed the aforementioned sources.

The alleged potential sale comes as investors are looking to capitalise on the circa 17.5 billion dollars market for plus-size fashion in the United States that remains largely underserved by mainstream retailers, according to market research firm the NPD Group.