(Bloomberg) -- CVC Capital Partners Plc shares soared after the company and its investors raised €2 billion ($2.15 billion) in an initial public offering, bringing the long-delayed listing process for one of Europe’s marquee private equity firms to a resolution.

Most Read from Bloomberg

• Javier Milei Fuels Wild Rally That Makes Peso No. 1 in World

• Plunging Home Prices, Fleeing Companies: Austin’s Glow Is Fading

• Huawei’s New Phone Runs Latest Version of Made-in-China Chip

• Fed’s Preferred Core Inflation Gauge Rose at Brisk Pace in March

• US Economy Slows and Inflation Jumps, Damping Soft-Landing Hopes

At the open in Amsterdam, the stock jumped 24% from the IPO price of €14, the best performance for a $1 billion-plus offering on a European exchange in more than three years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The firm’s strong debut will help further bolster Europe’s market for IPOs, which is stirring back to life after being dormant for much of the past two years. Companies have raised about $8.6 billion through listings this year, more than double the amount in the same period of 2023.

“The listing is good for IPO sentiment, and there seems to be enough international attention for the Amsterdam listing,” said Corne van Zeijl, a strategist at Cardano Asset Management.

CVC boosted the size of the sale by about €500 million on Thursday, reflecting the depth of investor demand for the listing, which was pushed back at least twice over the past two years due to volatile markets.

Of the proceeds, CVC is raising €250 million in fresh capital, while the rest is going to existing holders. If the over-allotment option is exercised in full, the deal size will rise to €2.3 billion. The offering was priced in the middle of an initial price range of €13 to €15, according to a statement Friday, valuing CVC at €14 billion.

The listing will see some already very wealthy private equity individuals in Europe add to their fortunes. Co-founder Donald Mackenzie, who stepped down in February from an active role in the firm, is selling as many as 10 million shares, according to the IPO prospectus, worth about €140 million at the offering price. Another co-founder, Steve Koltes, who stepped back in 2022, is offering as many as 2.3 million shares, valued at about €32 million.

Read More: Inside CVC, the Secretive Buyout Firm Heading Into New Waters

Other large backers selling shares in the IPO include Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte, Kuwait Investment Authority and a wealth fund run by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

CVC’s current employees aren’t selling any shares. That includes co-founder Rolly Van Rappard, who is chair of the listed firm, and managing partner Rob Lucas, who is the chief executive officer.

The firm manages about €186 billion of assets and owns stakes in companies including Swiss watchmaker Breitling and Lipton Teas and Infusions, according to its website. It was founded three decades ago by Mackenzie, Van Rappard and Koltes among others, growing from a unit spun off from Citigroup Inc. into one of Europe’s best-known buyout firms.

CVC shares rose 23% to €17.20 at 10:45 a.m. in Amsterdam after gaining as much as 29%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley are the joint global coordinators of the offering. The firm is trading in Amsterdam under the symbol CVC.

Investment firm Blue Owl Capital Inc., which already owns a stake in CVC, bought 10% of the shares in the offering.

The next test of investor appetite for new listings comes next week, when Spanish fragrance and cosmetics company Puig Brands SA is scheduled to price its €2.6 billion IPO.

(Adds details on IPO performance in second paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

• US White-Collar Job Growth Stalls, Even in Pandemic Boomtowns

• Caught Between the US and China, a Powerful AI Upstart Chooses Sides

• How North Korea’s Man in the West Ran Afoul of US Authorities

• Studio Behind Dune Eyes Growth, Even Without a Paramount Merger

• A Hedge Fund Billionaire’s Cash Helped Fund a ‘Predatory’ Lender

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.