Authentic Brands, owner of Forever 21, files for IPO

Authentic Brands Group on Tuesday, 6 July filed for an initial public offering in the US. The company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "AUTH" with a listing size of $100 million, though the amount is likely to change. Bloomberg reported that the New York-based company could be worth about $10 billion in an IPO. According to Reuters, the company’s net income jumped to about $211 million from $72.5 million, while its revenue rose nearly 2% to $488.9 million in 2020.

The IPO is led by Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Goldman Sachs Group, with BlackRock, Leonard Green & Partners LP, General Atlantic LLC, Simon Property Group and Lion Capital LLP as the largest shareholders.

While similar companies are selling off their brands due to the pandemic disruption in the retail market, Authentic Brands manages to survive by having over 30 labels that cover 6,000 stores, including brands in the media, entertainment, fashion, home, active and outdoor lifestyle sectors.