Birkenstock Attracts Norwegian Wealth Fund to $1.6 Billion IPO

Birkenstock Holding Ltd. and its private equity owner are seeking as much as $1.6 billion from an initial public offering, pushing ahead with the latest major test of demand for new listings.

(Bloomberg) — Birkenstock Holding Ltd. and its private equity owner are seeking as much as $1.6 billion from an initial public offering, pushing ahead with the latest major test of demand for new listings.

The German footwear maker is marketing 10.75 million new shares at $44 to $49 apiece, according to a filing Monday. Its controlling shareholder, L Catterton, is offering 21.51 million shares at the same price.

The Norwegian sovereign fund and T. Rowe Price Group Inc. veteran Henry Ellenbogen’s Durable Capital Partners LP have expressed interest in buying as much as $300 million of stock in aggregate, according to the filing. Billionaire LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault’s family holding company, which has already invested in Birkenstock, may buy as much as $325 million of shares.

Birkenstock plans to use proceeds from the offering to repay debt. Bloomberg News reported last week that Birkenstock was preparing to kick off its road show in the major test of demand for new listings. It’s tentatively planning to price the offering Oct. 10 and start trading Oct. 11, people with knowledge of the matter have said.

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The company is moving ahead after investor enthusiasm started to wane for some of the blockbuster listings of recent weeks. UK chip designer Arm Holdings Plc and grocery delivery startup Instacart, which both priced their listings at the top of their price ranges or higher, have slipped toward their issue prices or below amid a broader market retreat.

Vietnamese internet startup VNG Ltd. last month delayed its plans for a US listing after being advised to hold off until market demand improves, Bloomberg News has reported. Others are still doing well, with marketing and data automation provider Klaviyo Inc. trading well above its IPO price.

Birkenstock’s IPO comes more than two years after L Catterton and Arnault’s family investment company acquired a majority stake in the business at a valuation of about $4 billion.

The offering is being arranged by banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley. Birkenstock plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BIRK.

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