Birkenstock is getting ready to step into the public markets.
On Monday, the German footwear brand revealed plans to offer 10.75 million shares, priced from $44 to $49 per share, on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “BIRK.”
On the high end, Birkenstock could raise roughly $1.58 billion. When combined with ordinary shares outstanding after the completion of the offering, that could put Birkenstock’s total valuation at $9.2 billion.
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.
“It hasn’t been publicly listed [before] like Arm, is less well known, and it doesn’t have the obvious valuation discount that Instacart had, so maybe this is the real test as to whether the IPO market is reopening for real or whether this was a false storm,” Laidler said.
A nearly 250-year-old company goes public
So far this year, IPOs have received mixed reactions.
Instacart stock is down 35.8% from its IPO price as of Monday after a choppy initial reaction from investors. Shares of the England-based tech company Arm (ARM) are also down nearly 12% from its IPO debut. And Cava stock (CAVA), which soared in its IPO debut earlier this summer, is down 30%.
“It just shows that IPO investors are still not totally convinced that the IPO market is back,” Renaissance Capital research director Nick Einhorn told Yahoo Finance Live. “They’re a little jittery. Maybe some of them are taking gains early once these companies priced up.”
Laidler also noted that this reaction should be expected for companies that are willing to test the waters.
“These are the trailblazers after the IPO winter that we’ve lived through for the last 18 months,” Laidler said. “So I think they [were] always going to face a lot of scrutiny.”
As the next big IPO, Birkenstock will have to work to win over US investors.
“I would say it puts the onus on them to have a very good story … to persuade investors that there are great things coming that are worth paying out for,” Laidler said.
Founded in 1774, the sandal maker has a long history, something the company’s CEO Oliver Reichert, who has led the company since 2013, addressed in a letter to proposed shareholders.
“Despite this heritage, Birkenstock remains empowered by a youthful energy level, with all the freshness and creative versatility of an inspired Silicon Valley start-up,” Reichert wrote. “We have retained the original spirit of our forefathers who laid the foundation of a global business that is more relevant than ever before.”
In fiscal 2022, the company brought in 1.24 billion euros in revenue, up from 727.9 million euros in fiscal 2020, at an annual growth rate of 31%. Despite its European origins, its strongest market is the Americas, representing 54% of its revenue in fiscal 2022, followed by Europe at 36%.
Laidler noted that half of the companies that listed in the US this year have been foreign companies, which “speaks to the strength [and] attractiveness of the US as an IPO destination.”
The US footwear market has also been “surprisingly strong,” Laidler said. In the past year, Crocs stock (CROX) is up 28% while Nike (NKE) stock is up 13%.
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Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.
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