Birkenstock eyes US IPO even in government shutdown -sources

By Abigail Summerville and Anirban Sen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - German premium footwear brand Birkenstock Holding is pushing ahead with its plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) next month, even as a looming shutdown of the U.S. federal government threatens to derail the stock market debuts of other companies, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Birkenstock believes it can obtain the final sign-off from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission even during a shutdown when the financial regulator would operate with only essential staff, the sources said.

Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday rejected a stopgap funding bill advancing in the Senate, bringing Washington closer to its fourth partial shutdown of the government in a decade with just four days to go.

Birkenstock is still planning to kick off its IPO investor roadshow next week as planned, seeking a valuation of more than $8 billion, the sources said, cautioning that some other unforeseen event could still hamper the effort. They requested anonymity because the planning is confidential.

Birkenstock declined to comment.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler said on Wednesday that a shutdown would reduce his agency's staffing to "skeletal" levels, blocking it from approving companies' IPO filings and hindering the agency's ability to respond to any market turmoil.

An SEC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Birkenstock's IPO plans.

Companies less advanced in their IPO preparations, including healthcare software vendor Waystar, healthcare services firm Brightspring and car-sharing platform Turo, could be affected by a government shutdown. They did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Abigail Summerville and Anirban Sen in New York; Additional reporting by Chris Prentice and Echo Wang in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)