Camping World IPO grows nearer
Lincolnshire-based Camping World Holdings, owned by Marcus Lemonis, known for his role on CNBC's "The Profit," is getting nearer to its initial public offering.
The company filed an amendment of its request with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking to raise up to $300 million by selling 13 million shares of Class A stock at a maximum of $23 per share.
Camping World originally filed for the IPO in June, at which time it did not indicate what the money would be used for or which stock exchange it would be traded. The filing did list the company's trading symbol as CWH.
The amended filing asked that the offering be made "as soon as practicable" after it received SEC approval.
Camping World has more than 100 stores nationwide and employs about 8,000, including 130 at its Lincolnshire headquarters. The Wall Street Journal reported the company had $3.33 billion in revenue in 2015, up 25 percent from 2014, according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Lemonis is best known for his TV show "The Profit" on CNBC, where he invests money and provides guidance to struggling businesses to help them become profitable. He formed Camping World in 2006 after becoming involved in the RV business in 2000 and has grown it into one of the largest nonpublic companies in the U.S.
Besides "The Profit," Lemonis is also working on another series called "The Partner," which focuses on how people apply for a job with him set to debut later this year on CNBC. They are all part of the many lessons he said he learned along the way, starting with his upbringing in Florida.
Suburban companies he has helped include Sweet Pete's Candy, Denim & Soul, MLG Chicago - all in Lake Forest - The Simple Greek in Highland Park and Runway in Deerfield.
Lemonis, of Lake Forest, was born in 1973 in war-torn Beirut, Lebanon, and adopted as a baby by a Greek couple in their 40s and raised in Miami.