Birkenstock prices its initial public offering of stock valuing the sandal maker at $8.64 billion

NEW YORK (AP) — Birkenstock has set a price for its initial public offering of stock that values the 249-year-old German maker of upmarket sandals at $8.64 billion.

The company said Tuesday that it had priced its IPO at $46 a share, in the middle of its expected price range of $44 to $49 per share. It is due to start trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the “BIRK” ticker symbol.

Birkenstock Holding Ltd. sold about 10.8 million shares in the offering, raising about $495 million. Its shareholders sold an additional 21.5 million shares.

The company’s footwear was first cobbled together by Johann Adam Birkenstock in Germany in 1774. The sandals have long been derided as the antithesis of high fashion but have a cult following and this year got a plug in the blockbuster film “Barbie.”

Birkenstock’s IPO will be the fourth to launch in the U.S. in the past month, following Arm Holdings, Klaviyo and Instacart. There were just 71 IPOs in the U.S. last year, the lowest number since 2009, according to Renaissance Capital.