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Permira-backed Dr Martens prices IPO with valuation of £3.7bn

Katharine Hidalgo
29 January 2021

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Permira-backed Dr Martens has priced its initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.

The IPO was executed via a placing to institutional investors, priced at 370 pence per share, giving Dr Martens an implied market capitalisation of £3.7bn.

During Permira's holding period, turnover at the company has more than tripled, growing from £209m in 2014 to £672m in 2020. Investment in the company's e-commerce platform has driven strong online growth from 7% of revenues at entry to 20% in 2020, according to a statement. This strong momentum has continued through the Covid-19 pandemic, with revenues and EBITDA growing 18% and 30% year-on-year respectively in the six months ending on 30 September 2020.

The partnership will continue, with the Permira funds retaining a stake of 42.9%, assuming the overallotment option is exercised in full.

Permira owns a majority stake in the company. Dr Martens' CEO and some former employees also own stakes, while the previous owner – the Griggs family – has a stake of almost 10%. Permira acquired the brand in 2013 for £300m, with debt provided by Barclays. The firm is invested through Permira V, which closed on €5.3bn in June 2014 and has seen one realisation in the listing of portfolio company TeamViewer.

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are the joint global co-ordinators on the listing and were hired by Permira in November 2020, after the firm first began preparing to hire advisers in April 2019, choosing Baird and Goldman Sachs to consider strategic options in July 2019, according to Unquote sister publication Mergermarket. At the time, Dr Martens' enterprise value could have been worth up to £910m, according to Dealreporter analytics.

The Northamptonshire-based boot and shoe manufacturer reported profit after tax of £34.9m for the year ending on 29 March 2019. A dividend of £35m was also paid, according to Companies House filings. The company employed 2,288 people as of March 2020.