Birkenstock public debut 'the real test' for IPO market rebound

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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."

Birkenstock models stand in a retail store of the shoe manufacturer on Sept. 13, 2023, in Berlin, Germany, as the company prepares its US IPO. (Sebastian Gollnow/picture alliance via Getty Images) · (picture alliance via Getty Images)

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.