Canada Goose, maker of the eponymous jackets, went public today on stock markets in Toronto, where the company is based, and on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s two flagship stores are also in these cities.
Always popular with people working in the film industry, the jackets have become the winter status symbol for the likes of Drake, Kate Upton, and Daniel Craig to name a few fans
The $900 (Cdn) parkas with the fur-lined hoods, is starting with an initial public offering of 20 million shares.
Canada Goose anticipates the shares will be priced between $14 to $16, according to securities filings earlier this month.
The company says that of the 20 million subordinate voting shares offered, 12.85 million shares will come from existing shareholders.
The existing shareholders will hold 79 to 81 per cent of the company after the sale, depending on whether underwriters exercise an over-allotment option.
The company will trade under the symbol GOOS.
The company makes winter wear for use in extreme low temperatures. Sold in more than 50 countries and the logo is a popluar with counterfeiters. The company has grown to employ more than 1,000 people in manufacturing facilities in various parts of Canada.
Over the company’s 60-year evolution they created what was called the “Expedition Parka”. It was developed for the scientists at Antarctica’s McMurdo Station. So well-made it became standard issue and earned the affectionate nickname “Big Red.”
Dani Reiss, grandson of Sam Tick who started the company in 1957, follows in his father, David Reis’s footsteps joining the company in 1997. When he became President and CEO of Canada Goose in 2001, he vowed to remain “Made in Canada”
New York private equity firm Bain Capital, co-founded by former U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney, purchased a majority stake in Canada Goose in December 2013.
PETA protesters were demonstrating the IPO outside the TSX this morning. They object to the comany’s use of coyote fur around the hoods of the jackets. The company claims the coyote fur is one of the few to protect facial skin in extremely low temperatures.
Meanwhile the stock price was trading above $20.
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.