Birkenstock targets over $9bn IPO valuation

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German sandal maker Birkenstock is set to be valued at more than $9bn in an initial public offering this month, the latest sign of a revival in the US market for new listings after a dearth of deals since the start of 2022.

Birkenstock said in an updated prospectus that it would sell stock at between $44 and $49 per share, which would raise up to $1.6bn for the company and its private equity owner L Catterton.

At the top of the price range, Birkenstock would have an initial market capitalisation of $9.2bn based on outstanding shares after the offering, or $9.9bn on a fully diluted basis.

L Catterton, which is backed by French luxury fashion house LVMH, is expected to list the business next week.

About a third of the proceeds of the deal will go to Birkenstock, which said it would use the funds to repay debt, with the rest going to L Catterton.

The company and its advisers have lined up anchor investors for the deal. Financière Agache, the family holding company of LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault, has indicated an interest in purchasing up to $325mn of shares.

Arnault’s son Alexandre is expected to join the company’s board of directors following the IPO, according to the filing.

The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund and Durable Capital Partners plan to buy up to a further $300mn of shares.

The company almost had its plans to list thrown off course by a US government shutdown, which was narrowly averted when lawmakers reached a last-minute deal over the weekend.

Birkenstock, which traces its roots back to 1774, took private equity money for the first time when L Catterton bought a majority stake in a €4bn deal in 2021.

It reported revenues of €1.1bn in the nine months to the end of June, up 21 per cent year on year. However, net profits dropped 20 per cent to €103mn.

It is set to be the third-largest US listing of the year so far, according to Dealogic data.

Bankers have been hoping a successful deal from a well-known consumer brand such as Birkenstock will provide a further boost to the market after a string of tech listings in September.

“It will be important as it’s a different sector, so it gives a broader set of data [to encourage other potential IPO candidates],” said one senior IPO banker.

Arm, Instacart and Klaviyo all priced deals at the top of or above their target ranges last month, though trading in the stocks has been mixed in the weeks since. Overall, companies have raised $17.4bn in US IPOs so far this year, up more than 140 per cent from the same period last year.