Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Italian luxury sports brand Golden Goose, famous for its distressed-looking trainers popular among celebrities such as Taylor Swift, has postponed plans for an imminent listing in Milan that would have been among the highest-profile initial public offerings in Europe this year
The company, which is owned by British private equity group Permira, said on Tuesday that it had pushed back the deal due to “the significant deterioration in market conditions following European parliament elections this month and the calling of a general election in France”, which has affected markets and the luxury sector in particular.
People familiar with the talks on the listing said the last-minute decision had followed a day of frantic discussions, and while the company was not worried about the launch price, concerns had mounted about a potential unjustified market reaction after the IPO.
The postponement comes just a day before Golden Goose had been set to price, and after bankers on the deal indicated earlier on Tuesday that the IPO was likely to be positioned towards the bottom of the marketed range.
One other person familiar with the talks said the price would probably have been set at about €9.75, which was considered “fair”.
However, the high volatility of comparable stocks in recent weeks pushed management and Permira to opt for a postponement.
Golden Goose had been seeking to raise roughly €600mn at a market capitalisation of nearly €2bn.
Chief executive Silvio Campara, who is the company’s second-largest shareholder and has been at its helm for six years, told the Financial Times last month that the “IPO is not a one-shot deal” and that prospective investors were “very excited about the story and [willing to support the group] along this journey on the good and bad days” in spite of market turbulence.
Campara said the IPO was the natural next step for the brand, popular among celebrities and bankers, as it aimed to strengthen its capital structure and reduce debt while attracting long-term investors.
Last week it had announced Invesco had committed €100mn to the listing as a cornerstone backer.
However, investors who spoke on condition of anonymity said the situation on the market had been excessively volatile following the European parliament elections this month. “All signs are telling us to act cautiously in Europe. I think some of us got cold feet,” said one overseas investor.
The global luxury sector has been facing a slowdown this year, but Golden Goose — whose flagship “distressed” trainers sell for about €500 a pair — reported a 12 per cent surge in revenue in the first quarter, which had encouraged the company to move forward with its plans.
The postponement of the IPO is a blow for Permira, which floated British boot brand Dr Martens in London three years ago but has seen its shares plunge since.
