Birkenstock, the German premium footwear brand, is getting ready to step into the public markets.
Yesterday, the company revealed plans to offer 10.75 million shares, priced between $44 and $49 apiece, on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “BIRK.” It did not set a date for the IPO just yet.
On the high end, Birkenstock could raise roughly $1.58 billion, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange commission. When combined with ordinary shares outstanding after the completion of the offering, that could put the company’s total valuation at $9.2 billion.
The family-owned firm traces its origins back to 1774, when church archives mention Johannes Birkenstock, who worked as a cobbler in Langen-Bergheim, Germany.
In 2021, L Chatterton, a private equity firm backed by French luxury giant LVMH — which owns brands such as Tiffany & Co. and Dior — bought a majority stake in Birkenstock. Brothers Christian and Alex Birkenstock retained a minority stake.
The company has ballooned in recent years, its revenues surging by 71% between the 2020 and 2022 financial years, according to Monday’s filing. In the nine months to the end of June this year, revenues grew 21% compared with the same period in 2022 to reach $1.17 billion. The firm made a pre-tax profit of $161.7 million in that period.
Birkenstock’s IPO is the latest to emerge from a long dry spell in the US IPO market. Earlier this year, investors also saw England-based tech company Arm (ARM), Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava (CAVA), and grocery delivery service company Instacart (CART) go public, among others.
According to Ben Laidler, eToro global markets strategist, Birkenstock could be the “real test” for the IPO market recovery (Yahoo Finance).
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Market Recap Week of 9/25/2023 Through 9/29/2023