Birkenstock uses IPO proceeds for early repayment of loans

Birkenstock Holding Plc
BIRK,
+4.42%
said Thursday it has used the proceeds from its recent initial public offering for early loan repayment, that has reduced its leverage to 2.5 times. The German sandal maker said it’s committing to a long-term leverage ratio target of below 1.0 times. The company has repaid $450 million of its dollar-denominated Term B loan and 100 million euros of its euro-denominated vendor loan. Both those loans were used to finance the acquisition of a majority stake in the company by L Catterton, an investment company formed through the partnership of Catterton, LVMH and Groupe Arnault. The company’s debt has now been reduced to EUR1.314billion from EUR1.840 previously. Birkenstock said the early repayments are significantly higher than it envisaged in its IPO filing documents. The stock was last trading up 4% at $40.14, still below the IPO issue price of $46.