Birkenstock footwear brand files for IPO in United States

German footwear brand Birkenstock on Tuesday filed for an initial public offering in the United States, planning to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

The proposed terms of its share sale have not been revealed, but news reports previously said that the IPO could value the sandal maker at more than $8 billion.

The brand, founded in 1774 to make orthopedic shoes, received a Hollywood boost recently when actress Margot Robbie donned a pair of pink Birkenstocks in the lead role of the hit movie "Barbie".

By 1897, Konrad Birkenstock had made the first flexible sole fitting the contours of the feet, and the sandals were brought to the United States in the 1960s.

They were adopted by hippies who took to their no-frills comfort, while also seeing their utilitarian look as an anti-fashion badge.

In 2021, private equity firm L Catterton and the family-holding fund of French luxury brand magnate Bernard Arnault acquired a majority stake in Birkenstock, based in Linz am Rhein in western Germany.

Analysts estimated the price of the sale at around four billion euros ($4.4 billion).