The sandal manufacturer Birkenstock is holding back on the price of its shares for its IPO in New York, according to a media report. Birkenstock has set the share price at $46 – in the middle of the previously agreed range of $44 to $49, the Wall Street Journal wrote on Tuesday. At this price, the company, headquartered in Linz am Rhein in Rhineland-Palatinate, would be worth around 8.6 billion US dollars (around 8.1 billion euros) on the stock exchange.
The main owner L Catterton, who is linked to the luxury group LVMH and its billionaire boss Bernard Arnault, will retain control of Birkenstock after the IPO.
According to the company, Birkenstock’s origins date back to 1774. Almost 250 years ago, the shoemaker Johannes Birkenstock laid the foundation for “a shoemaking dynasty”. The company describes itself as the “inventor of the footbed”. The sandals have long since broken away from their former eco-slipper image; in recent years they have increasingly developed into a fashion accessory, also through collaborations with high-end brands such as Dior and Manolo Blahnik. (dpa)