Blue jeans giant is going for green: Levi's files for IPO San Francisco-based Levi Strauss & Co. filed for a public offering – a sign the iconic maker of denim pants and jackets is betting it can overcome growing competition in the apparel industry. It filed paperwork with an initial offering size of $100 million, a placeholder amount that's used to calculate fees and will typically change. The denim-maker is looking to raise $600 million to $800 million. (Orlando Sentinel) Levis Return Levi Strauss & Co. intends to return to the stock market after a 34-year absence. Its 2018 revenues were up 14% year-on-year, and it seems like the company has successfully reinvented itself against strong odds. Fortune's Phil Wahba explains how. Fortune
I don’t know a single person who wears Levi’s. Their revival seems like a Brooklyn hipster fad. We shall see. Edit- Just saw that 45% of their revenues come from overseas. That’s very surprising
Levi Strauss looks to deepen pockets with IPO Levi Strauss & Co hopes to sell $587 million worth of shares in an upcoming return to the stock market after three decades, which would value the inventor of blue jeans at $6.17 billion and give it a potful of cash to broaden its product range. The company said it expects to offer 36.7 million shares priced at $14 and $16 per share. (Reuters)
Yeah, I can see today's kids playing their Gibson, riding their Harley while shooting their Remingtons wearing a Levi's... Sign of the times...
If interested, take a look at Levi Strauss Japan which is listed in Japan. LEVI owns 80%+ and I think is due for a restructuring (ie tender). I surmise Levi listed the Japan arm back in the Japanese golden time to monetize the rich valuation then and pivot to expand substantially there. As Japan entered recession and new fashion names (Gap, etc) became popular then, the strategy changed and the listing had just been left out for years. The stock now trades in the low-end of its 52-week range with valuation reasonable. A reasonable premium (say 20%) should gather enough shares to do a mandatory squeeze-out and make the LEVI corporate structure free of an ugly listed-sub. Having said that, a tender for its Japan sub could have been done prior to the IPO using a bridge loan. LEVI chose to have left it as it is during its IPO roadshow, so its restructuring intention might not be strong.