L Catterton buys lifestyle brand Birkenstock

L Catterton has acquired lifestyle brand Birkenstock. No financial terms were disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE

Linz am Rhein, 30.04.2021. L Catterton, the largest global consumer-focused private equity firm, today announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of global lifestyle brand BIRKENSTOCK. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

In conjunction with the closing, BIRKENSTOCK has formed and appointed six members to the Company’s Supervisory Board, including: Michael Chu, Global Co-CEO, and Nik Thukral and Luigi Feola, Managing Partners at L Catterton; Oliver Reichert, CEO of BIRKENSTOCK; and one representative each from both GIC and Financière Agache.

In partnership with L Catterton and Financière Agache, BIRKENSTOCK intends to continue its growth trajectory by investing further in its business and expanding its market leadership in Europe and North America while growing its presence in future markets, particularly in China and Asia.

Michael Chu said: “We are pleased to have completed the acquisition of BIRKENSTOCK, and I look forward to working closely with Oliver and the exceptional management team, as well as my colleagues on the Supervisory Board, to drive growth and unlock new opportunities for a business with an unrivaled heritage.”

Oliver Reichert said: “L Catterton and Financière Agache have an unmatched expertise and international network of resources, and we are confident this partnership will serve as a major leap forward for BIRKENSTOCK. Our company has long been at the forefront of the footwear and lifestyle industry worldwide thanks to the outstanding skills and abilities of our people. Today we are opening a new, very promising chapter in the company’s history.”

About L Catterton
With over $25 billion of equity capital across its fund strategies and 17 offices around the world, L Catterton is the largest global consumer-focused private equity firm. L Catterton’s team of nearly 200 investment and operating professionals partners with management teams around the world to implement strategic plans to foster growth, leveraging deep category insight, operational excellence, and a broad partnership network. Since 1989, the firm has made over 200 investments in leading consumer brands. For more information about L Catterton, please visit lcatterton.com.

About BIRKENSTOCK
BIRKENSTOCK is a global lifestyle brand with a long tradition of creating legendary footwear based on the invention of the BIRKENSTOCK footbed. The brand, which began back in 1774, is guided by the guiding values of quality and function in all its activities and across product categories. Boundless well-being – the brand transfers this concept to shoes, sleep systems and natural cosmetics, thereby increasingly realising the lifestyle vision of the brand tradition. With around 4,300 employees worldwide, the sixth-generation family business is also one of the largest employers in the German shoe industry. As early as the 1910s, BIRKENSTOCK used the term “footbed” and gave it the meaning that is still understood today by consumers all over the world – as the epitome of outstanding comfort when walking and standing. By the early 1970s, BIRKENSTOCK had risen to become a global player. Today, the sandals made in Germany are sold in over 100 countries on all continents. In addition, BIRKENSTOCK offers a growing range of closed-toe shoes, children’s and professional shoes, as well as special products for orthopaedic shops, socks, bags and belts. In 2017, BIRKENSTOCK expanded its product portfolio to include sleep systems and natural cosmetics (BIRKENSTOCK NATURAL SKIN CARE). BIRKENSTOCK is represented at 16 locations in Germany – in North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Bavaria and Saxony. The traditional family-owned company also operates its own sales offices in the United States and Canada as well as in Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Great Britain, Dubai and India.

About Financière Agache
Financière Agache is a holding company controlled by Agache, the Arnault family holding company. Financière Agache and its affiliates hold a 97.5% ownership in Christian Dior, the controlling shareholder of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s leading luxury products group. Financière Agache also holds a portfolio of diversified financial investments.