Birkenstock seeks valuation of up to $9.2 billion in planned IPO

Birkenstock Holding Ltd. set terms for its initial public offering on Monday with plans to offer 32.3 million shares priced at $44 to $49 each.

The iconic German maker of sandals and clogs
BIRK,

would raise $1.58 billion at the top of that range at a valuation of $9.2 billion.

The company is offering 10.8 million of those shares, while selling shareholders are selling the remaining 21.5 million. The company will not receive any proceeds from the selling shareholder’s stock sales.

The company has applied to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “BIRK.” Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are lead underwriters in a team of 22 banks working on the deal. Underwriters have the option to purchase up to $4.8 million more shares from the selling shareholders to cover overallotments.

For more, see: Birkenstock is going public: 5 things to know about the iconic German sandal maker’s IPO designs

Birkenstock has been in business for about 250 years and prides itself on its technology and tradition, with the public-offering prospectus offering some detailed information on the anatomy of the foot.

“Every foot employs 26 bones, 33 muscles and over 100 tendons and ligaments in walking,” the company says. “Improper footwear can cause friction, pain, injury and poor posture, among other ailments.”

In 2021, L Catterton, an investment company formed through the partnership of Catterton, LVMH and Groupe Arnault, acquired a majority stake. That stake means L Catterton will retain most of the voting rights, or 82.8%, once the deal is completed, such that individual shareholders will have little sway in the running of the company.

Birkenstock is profitable and earned $103.1 million euros ($113.2 million) in the first none months of the year, down from EUR129.1 million in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to EUR1.17 billion from EUR921.2 million.

Proceeds of the deal will be used to repay debt in the form of a EUR100 million vendor loan and about EUR313 million of borrowings under senior term facilities.

The deal would have been delayed had the threatened government shutdown not been averted over the weekend. It’s now expected to take place next week as the company launches its roadshow this week.

Fears the government shutdown would materialize have kept IPO issuers on the sidelines for this week, according to Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO exchange-traded funds and institutional research. There are no deals scheduled for this week, according to Renaissance.

The Birkenstock deal is expected to offer the IPO market its next test, after three recent deals lost some of their luster in the days following their debuts.

Chip maker Arm Holdings Ltd.
ARM,
-2.35%,
Klaviyo
KVYO,
-2.99%,
a digital marketing company, and Instacart, which trades at Maplebear Inc.
CART,
-9.20%,
all enjoyed strong gains on their first day of trade but pared those in the following sessions. Instacart remained below its IPO issue price of $30 on Monday.

Read now: Instacart shares slump to their IPO price as investors have second thoughts

The Renaissance IPO ETF
IPO
has gained 30% in the year to date, while the S&P 500
SPX
has gained 11.7%.

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