Topline
German sandal giant Birkenstock said Monday it plans to price its upcoming New York initial public offering at $44 to $49 per share, also sharing that a member of one of the world’s wealthiest families will join its board upon its debut.
Key Facts
Birkenstock will raise up to $1.58 billion at a valuation of up to $9.2 billion at the target share price range, making it among the five largest IPOs of the last two years.
The Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed the nomination of Alexandre Arnault, the 31-year-old son of billionaire LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, to Birkenstock’s board of directors.
Birkenstock disclosed Monday Financière Agache, the Arnault family office which already bought a controlling stake in the shoemaker in 2021, expressed interest in buying up to $325 million worth of Birkenstock shares when it goes public, while a group including the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund indicated it may buy a further $300 million worth of its stock.
What To Watch For
Birkenstock intends to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange next Wednesday, according to Bloomberg.
Tangent
Birkenstock will become the fourth major company to go public in the U.S. since mid-September, joining British chip designer Arm, grocery delivery service Instacart and marketing automation firm Klaviyo. Results have been mixed for the other three new market entrants in their first weeks of trading: Arm shares were up 5% from their IPO price at Friday’s close, Klaviyo up 15% from its debut and Instacart down 1%.
Key Background
The Arnaults’ purchase of Birkenstock valued the sandal hawker at $4.87 billion, translating to a nearly 100% partially realized gain in 31 months. Alex and Christian Birkenstock, heirs to the family business, were worth about $1.7 billion apiece after the sale. The Arnaults are Europe’s richest family; patriarch Bernard Arnault is worth $187 billion, according to Forbes’ calculations, making the Louis Vuitton and Tiffany boss the second-richest person in the world. Alexandre Arnault is Bernard’s third-oldest child and second-oldest son and has been Tiffany’s executive vice president of communications and product since 2021.
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