What happened and why Dr Martens has come a long way since the first pairs of boots were produced in the 60s. The prominent black boot pioneer will be finally making its stock market debut at a hefty £3.7bn valuation. All eyes peeled for Docs on Wall St. ⏲️ Time to collect the gains… The main beneficiary of the listing comes in the form of the company’s private equity owner, Permira. The PE-giant sold 350m shares, priced at 370p each, and cashed in £1.29bn in the process. Under the Permira reign - they owned 75% of the biz - Dr Martens has seen an exponential growth including record sales, rapid new store expansion and a remarkable international presence.Family Affair… To take the edge off the PE returns, at least the listing saw £129 million go to the Griggs family, who still owns around 10% of the business after selling to Permira in 2013 for £300 million. 🧮 But that wasn’t enough… As demand kept coming from investors, owners of the ankle-strapping boots giant decided to cut ties with another 52.5 million shares. The famous boots brand is now in conditional trading, enjoying a 16% jump in the price already and now trading 425p. And its full IPO will be landing on the 3rd of February. The Takeaway 🥾 The Dr Martens heavy boots, a former niche statement item for goths and punks, turned into a mainstream fashion essential. An incredible outcome for the London-beloved company who had a few bumps in the road along the way, including almost filing for bankruptcy in 2003.
