Birkenstock Holding Limited (Birkenstock) has announced its plan for a public offering, however it says the number of ordinary shares to be sold and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined.

Last month US news publication Bloomberg claimed its initial public offering (IPO) could be valued at more than $8bn and suggested the company’s sales were boosted this summer by the appearance of its iconic shoe in the blockbuster Barbie movie.

Birkenstock has officially filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) outlining its intention to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) of its ordinary shares.

Birkenstock plans to have its ordinary shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "Birk."

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley are jointly serving as the lead book-running managers for the proposed offering.

This comes nearly two years after the German footwear brand struck a deal, valued at €4bn, with LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton and affiliates, including Financière Agache, the family investment firm of Bernard Arnault – chairman and CEO of luxury conglomerate LVMH.

At the time L Catterton shared its ambitions for the footwear firm to grow in markets such as China and India. The firm also planned to expand production, logistics and sales operations in Europe and America.

A group of financial institutions are supporting the offering, with BofA Securities, Citigroup, Evercore ISI, Jefferies, UBS Investment Bank, BNP PARIBAS, Bernstein, and HSBC acting as bookrunners.

Additionally, Baird, BMO Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank Securities, Piper Sandler, Stifel, William Blair, Telsey Advisory Group and Williams Trading LLC have assumed the role of co-managers for the proposed offering.

Earlier this year GlobalData analyst Neil Saunders told Just Style he believed it was a good time for L Catterton to explore an IPO of Birkenstock.

He said: “Since it acquired the business, L Catterton has grown Birkenstock and increased the value of the company. It is likely satisfied with the progress and sees this as an opportune time to test the waters and see if there is any interest in a public offering.”

“An IPO would give Birkenstock more flexibility. As an independent business, it could raise funds for expansion and growth.”

“Birkenstock is a far more established and much older brand than many of the new direct to consumer upstarts, so that’s likely to work in its favour. The fact that L Catterton is exploring options suggests that they are cautious about the environment.”