Belron, owner of Autoglass and Safelite, is considering an IPO in Amsterdam that could value it at around €30bn. After a long winter for European listings, the windshield repair company is seen as a potential catalyst to warm investors back to the IPO market. Unlike speculative rocket or AI start-ups, Belron offers a well-known, profitable, and predictable business.

Its majority owner, Belgian conglomerate D’Ieteren, is already listed and publishes performance data, giving investors years of information to analyse. Chief executive Carlos Brito, the former head of brewer AB InBev, is also a familiar figure to markets. The US IPO market followed a similar recovery pattern after its 2022 slowdown, with carve-outs like Kenvue and well-known groups such as Arm leading the reopening.

Belron's core windshield repair business is not cyclical and should not be disrupted by driverless cars. Increasingly complex windshields with special coatings and sensors are raising repair costs and boosting margins. An enterprise value of €30bn, including €8bn of net debt, implies a valuation of around 17 times EBITDA.

The main concern is the company's debt load. Belron completed the largest debt-funded dividend on record in 2024, borrowing €8.1bn, though it has since reduced net debt from 6 times EBITDA to around 4.8 times.