By Marcel Michelson
AMSTERDAM, May 19 (Reuters) - Sports car maker Spyker plans a ride on the stock exchange in the first Dutch initial public offering in nearly a year, which would value the maker of high-power, high-sticker vehicles as high as 60 million euros ($72 million).
Spyker will offer about 25 percent of its equity at 14-17 euros per share from May 24, it said on Wednesday. It aims to raise as much as 15 million euros.
The IPO comes after at the Geneva International Motorshow in March, at which Spyker presented a new line-up of "super cars" with prices starting at 250,000 euros ($312,000).
"The issue of new shares and the listing mark an important step in the development of Spyker," said Chief Executive Victor Muller.
He said the company would use the proceeds to boost production capacity and that the listing would enhance its reputation. He declined to give financial details on the firm ahead of the listing particulars.
Spyker made 16 cars in 2003 and expects to produce 45 to 50 cars in 2004 in its factory in Zeewolde, east of Amsterdam.
Its main market is in the United States, where it competes with Aston-Martin and Iraly's Ferrari. Muller wanted to remain discreet about the owners of Spyker cars, but rap artist Busta Rhymes is known to be among the proud owners of its expensive creations.
The company is selling about 12.8 million euros in new shares, of which a maximum of 11.47 million euros can be bought by investors that have presubscribed. There is also a greenshoe option for up to 2.2 million worth of additional shares.
Talpa Management, the investment firm of television production multi-millionaire John de Mol, and Muller's Helvetia BV will subscribe to a total of 5.5 million euros of shares.
But if public demand exceeds 15 million euros, Talpa and Helvetia, already main shareholders, will not buy new shares.
Subscription will start on May 24 and close on May 26 at 1300 GMT with the prospectus due on Thursday.
Italian rival Ferrari said earlier this month it would not resurrect plans for an IPO soon after it postponed a previous attempt in early 2003, citing poor market conditions.
FIRST DUTCH IPO SINCE JULY
Stryker's is the first IPO on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange since the July 2003 float of Israeli investment firm Kardan .
"We welcome this IPO and hope that many other firms will find their way to the stock exchange again, but it is far too early to say that IPO activity is taking off again," said Jochem van de Laarschot at Spyker's lead-manager, ABN AMRO Bank .
European demand for IPOs, which withered in the recent bear market, has begun to show signs of life.
In Germany, bicyclemaker MIFA ended a nearly two-year IPO drought earlier this month, and German cash machine maker Wincor-Nixdorf had an offering on Wednesday.
German auto parts and repair chain ATU and British car and bike maintenance retailer Halfords are also in the starting blocks.
Spyker was originally founded in 1880 by blacksmith brothers Hendrik Jan and Jacobus Spijker, and the firm built the Golden State Coach for the Dutch royal family in 1898. It also made fighter planes in the 1914-18 era.
Once a rival to Rolls-Royce, Spyker went bankrupt in 1926. But in 1999 a young Dutch country and town planner, Maarten de Bruijn, built a sports car with the Spyker name, and in 2000 he started the firm again.