Italian luxury sneaker brand 'Golden Goose' has abruptly decided to postpone its planned listing on the Milan Stock Exchange. This decision comes amid confirmed market instability due to rapidly increasing political uncertainty in Europe.
Permira, the private equity firm that owns Golden Goose, announced on the 18th (local time) that it would delay the initial public offering (IPO) schedule. Permira explained, "Following the European Parliament elections this month, market conditions have seriously deteriorated, and with the convening of an early general election in France, we have decided to postpone the Milan listing."
The postponement decision was made just before the public offering price was to be finalized on the 19th. A source told major foreign media, "After heated discussions throughout the day, the final decision to postpone was made," adding, "The concern grew that the stock might be undervalued in the market after the IPO rather than the public offering price itself." Bloomberg reported, "Golden Goose shares were originally scheduled to start trading from the 21st," and "the public offering price was set at 9.75 euros per share, at the lower end of the market range."
Political uncertainty in Europe has recently intensified. Following the rise of far-right forces in the European Parliament elections, France has decided to hold an early general election, continuing the turmoil. Consequently, the market has seen a decline in stock prices amid concerns that far-right parties or a hard-left coalition could seize parliamentary power in France.
An overseas investor who requested anonymity said, "All signs are telling us to act cautiously in Europe," and added, "Some investors are lukewarm about the IPO." It is also analyzed that Permira, which faced a sharp stock price drop after listing the boot brand Dr. Martens on the London Stock Exchange three years ago, aimed to reduce risk in the Golden Goose listing.
Golden Goose initially planned to raise about 600 million euros through this IPO. The market value was estimated to approach 2 billion euros. Ahead of the IPO, Invesco announced last week that it had invested 100 million euros.
Golden Goose, a high-end sneaker brand with prices reaching about 500 euros per pair, is well known for being favored by stars such as Taylor Swift. Despite a slowdown in global luxury sector sales, Golden Goose announced that its sales increased by 12% in the first quarter.
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