(News Bulletin 247) – The German sandal manufacturer plans to go public at the top of its range, which would value it at $10 billion. The first listings of Birkenstock shares are scheduled for Wednesday in New York.

Birkenstock’s first steps on Wall Street should be crowned with success. Demand is so strong for the deal that the German sandal maker’s IPO price is expected to be at the high end of the range, Reuters reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

Birkenstock should in fact communicate on Tuesday on an indicative price limit of between 44 and 49 dollars per share, before a first listing on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, reports Reuters. At the top of this range, Birkenstock would therefore be able to raise $1.58 billion and could thus be valued at $10 billion on the stock market, the press agency also suggests.

The German sandal maker will be the fourth company to go public in the United States in recent weeks, after chipmaker Arm Holdings, food delivery specialist Instacart and marketing automation platform Klaviyo. These companies first priced their IPO at or above the indicative range, before jumping for their first day of trading, Reuters recalls.

They then abandoned most of their initial gains, including Instacart, whose shares are now worth less than their IPO price. Despite investors’ appetite for its operation, Birkenstock prefers to be cautious and therefore refuses to raise the price range envisaged for its IPO.

A fund associated with LVMH and Bernard Arnault

Recall that Financière Agache (the Arnault family holding company) has expressed interest in purchasing up to $325 million in common shares, as have one or more funds managed by Durable Capital Partners LP and Norges Bank Investment Management (a division of Norges Bank) who have indicated for their part that they wish to purchase up to $300 million in shares.

The L Catterton fund, the owner of Birkenstock, filed its application last September for an listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

This fund took a majority stake in Birkenstock in 2021 with the support of Financière Agache, the Arnault family’s investment company. The price was not communicated at the time but Bloomberg for its part cited a company valuation of $4.9 billion.

Following the IPO, L Catterton will own a majority stake of 82.8% in Birkenstock and control the majority of voting rights and outstanding shares.