THE GOOD GUYS EYE IPO

THE GOOD Guys has appointed Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and UBS as joint lead managers to support an IPO and listing on the ASX.

The Melbourne company says it will also consider any alternate ownership proposals that emerge.

The specialty retailer of household appliances and consumer electronics products has annual sales of approximately $2 billion, and claims to hold market leader positions in categories including white goods, cooking, small kitchen appliances and home entertainment.

This is through 100 large-format stores across Australia and an e-commerce platform.

Transition to 100 per cent ownership of the store network is proceeding well and remains on track for completion at the end of the current financial year.

Business News Australia reported last week that Melbourne-based JB Hi-Fi (ASX: JBH) had entered preliminary talks for an acquisition of The Good Guys.

Responding to the rumour mill, JB Hi-Fi CEO Richard Murray said discussions were 'preliminary' 'exploratory in nature'.

Murray said the company hadn't entered into any agreement, and understood The Good Guys were 'looking at a range of options including an IPO on the ASX'.

JB Hi-Fi currently has a market valuation of $2.3 billion, with annual revenues of $3.65 billion generated by nearly 190 stores.