Business Case Studies & Business Publications

Birkenstock: The Leveraged Buyout of a F...

Schill, Michael J.

Case

Birkenstock: The Leveraged Buyout of a Family Legacy

Schill, Michael J.

F-2150 | Published March 20, 2026 | 15 Pages Case

Collection: Darden School of Business

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This case examines the 2021 sale by owners Alex and Christian Birkenstock of the German footwear business Birkenstock to private equity firm L Catterton in a leveraged buyout (LBO), after nearly 250 years of family ownership. Based in the United States, L Catterton was a global leader in private investment in consumer goods businesses and was closely connected to French luxury goods giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (LVMH), which also shared world-class expertise in building brands. The case includes a simple free-cash-flow-based valuation of the company using a standard weighted average cost of capital (WACC)–based discounted-cash-flow analysis. Students are invited to contrast this valuation with their own levered-cash-flow valuation model. This case is used in the University of Virginia Darden School of Business as an introduction to levered cash flows and buyout transactions in the elective “Valuation in Financial Markets.”

The case serves as a vehicle for accomplishing any of the following teaching objectives: (1) Introduce the mechanics and economic motivation for LBOs. (2) Examine valuation models with levered cash flows (equity residual cash flows) where the financing details are built into the valuation. (3) Discuss the effects of time-varying leverage on discount rates.