Levi Strauss & Co fetched a higher price than expected in its initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday, selling $623.3 million in shares as the U.S. jeans maker looks to return to the stock market after 34 years as a family-owned company.
The success of the IPO underscores the diverging fortunes of retail companies. Tens of thousands of brick-and-mortar stores have closed in the last few years under pressure from e-commerce firms such as Amazon.com Inc, but vendors with consistently popular offerings such as Levi have flourished, as they reach more shoppers through online channels.
With the stock market hovering near all-time highs, Levi said it priced its IPO at $17 share, just above its target range of $14 to $16, valuing the company at about $6.6 billion.
Levi Strauss, named for the man who popularized jeans and founded the company in 1853, is set to debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday under the ticker “LEVI”.
In the IPO, $462.4 million worth of stock was sold by existing stockholders and the company sold $160.9 million in shares.
Levi is setting the stage for a bumper year for IPOs that will also feature the likes of ride-hailing startups Lyft Inc and Uber Technologies Inc later this year. IPOs in the U.S. amassed to $60.8 billion in 2018, up 23 percent from a year earlier and the highest since 2014, according to data provider Dealogic.
The popularity of denim is surging, driven by new styles such as high-waist and pinstriped jeans. Earlier this month American Eagle Outfitters Inc and Abercrombie & Fitch Co posted strong results boosted by denim sales.
Levi reported net revenue of $5.8 billion for the 12 months ending Nov. 25, up from $4.9 billion the year before. Net income was $285.2 million, only slightly up from $284.6 million a year earlier.
The Haas family, the descendants of Levi Strauss, will sell a small chunk of their shares and will continue to control the company. They took it private in 1985 in a $1.6 billion leveraged buyout. Levi Strauss first went public in 1971.
The proceeds from the IPO will boost Levi Strauss’ coffers to invest in broadening its product range.
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Bank Of America and Morgan Stanley are among the main underwriters of the IPO.