Solo Brands (NYSE:DTC) CEO John Merris rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange today. And investors came running.
The Southlake-based holding company of Solo Stove and other outdoor lifestyle brands’ shares jumped 31.5% in its debut on the public markets under the ticker symbol DTC – a nod to the business model that has fuels its growth. That values the company at about $2.14 billion.
Solo priced its initial 12.9 million Class A common stock shares at $17 per share, placing it at the high end of its $14 to $17 range with a target of raising $219 million. Its first batch of shares traded at $22.36 at around 10:30 a.m. CT.
That number declined to $18.96 per share at around 2:30 p.m. CT.
Underwriters now have a 30-day option to purchase up to 1.9 million shares. Solo is targeting Nov. 1 to close the initial offering.
Solo Brands was formed last month, via Solo Stove’s acquisitions of Chubbies Shorts, Oru Kayak and paddleboard maker ISLE. In its S-1 filing, Solo Brands said it saw 92% of its sales come from direct-to-consumer channels, with 85% of that coming from its brands’ websites.
Solo Stove was initially launched in 2011 and has grown to more than 125 employees. In 2019, Bertram Capital acquired nearly 67% of Solo Stove for $52.3 million, later reforming as a Delaware LLC and acquiring the remaining shares. In 2020, it issued Class A and B units, of which Summit Partners acquired nearly 59% for $273.1 million.
In its SEC filings, the company reported a compounded annual growth rate of 132% from 2016 to June of this year. In 2020, Solo Stove saw $133 million in sales. For the first six months of this year, its sales numbers grew to $152 million. When combined with the other businesses that make up Solo Brands, its sales for the first half of the year total $225 million.
Earlier this year, Solo Brands expanded into the Canadian and European markets. Merris previously told NTX Inno the company is focusing on growing in Europe and Australia in the near-term, with eyes on markets like Africa, South America and the Middle East later on. Currently, more than 95% of its sales come from U.S.-based customers.
“We acquire complementary brands that we believe we can optimize through our digital marketing and supply chain platform while we broaden our product assortment,” Solo Brands wrote in its S-1. “Our disciplined acquisition strategy focuses on profitable, rapidly growing digitally-native brands with disruptive product offerings. We seek opportunities where our proprietary platform can drive scale and customer engagement. In turn, these brands broaden our customer reach, expand our product offering, and provide new technologies and capabilities.”
