Jul 3, 2010

Vera Bradley Files For $175 Mln IPOBy RTTNews.com

Vera Bradley, Inc. plans to go public through an initial public offering of up to $175 million of its common stock. Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Vera Bradley, which was founded in 1982 by two friends, Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia Miller, is a designer, producer, marketer and retailer of women accessories. Vera Bradley’s products include a wide offering of handbags, accessories and travel and leisure items.

In its Form S-1 registration statement with the U.S. securities regulator, the company noted that it applied to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market. The company said that the number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined.

Vera Bradley was formed solely for the purpose of reorganizing the corporate structure of Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., which will become its wholly-owned subsidiary. Upon the completion of the reorganization transaction, the only asset of Vera Bradley will be its investment in Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., and all of its operations will be conducted through Vera Bradley Designs, Inc.

For the fiscal quarter ended May 1, 2010, Vera Bradley reported net revenues of $85 million and net income of $16.79 million, compared to $71.4 million and $7.36 million, respectively, for the fiscal quarter ended May 2, 2009.

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