Amer Sports, Inc. raised $1.37 billion its U.S. initial public offering (IPO) on Wednesday, a total that fell short of its projected $1.8 billion.
The Finnish company, which owns the Salomon, Arc’Teryx, Wilson, Peak Performance and Atomic brands, sold 105 million ordinary shares for $13 each. The company previously anticipated offering 100 million ordinary shares priced between $16 and $18 per share. The offering is expected to close on Feb. 5.
Amer was approved last week to list on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker “AS” after filing a statement with the SEC this month announcing its proposed IPO.
Amer’s revenue for the first nine months of 2023 was $3.1 billion, up 29.9 percent compared to the same period in 2022. Gross margin increased from 49.4 percent to 52.2 percent. Net loss was $114 million.
The company previously shared preliminary results for 2023, which included revenue of $3.55 billion and a net loss of $252.7 million.
According to a Reuters report, investors are concerned about Amer’s reliance on China and its volatile economy. Amer’s sales in the region have grown at a faster rate than other regions, and sales in China made up about 19 percent of total revenues in the first nine months of 2023.
Among the company’s brands, Salomon had a standout year in 2023, and its public profile was bolstered by Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance in which she wore the MM6 Maison Margiela x Salomon Cross Low sneakers. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2023, Salomon revenue was $949.3 million. According to StockX, Salomon was the fastest-growing sneaker brand on the marketplace in 2022, experiencing 2,277 percent trade growth in 2022 over 2021.
Amer’s IPO marks one of the first major shoe IPOs in 2024, following Birkenstock’s move to go public at the end of 2023. Although IPO activity was broadly dull throughout 2023, it has started to pick up in recent months and is expected to accelerate in the back half of 2024. Heading into 2024, Golden Goose, Shein and Skims are among the most anticipated retail and fashion IPOs to watch.