What's going on?

Private equity firm Permira � which bought Dr. Martens in 2014 and has spent the last few years sprucing it up � announced plans on Monday to list the iconic British bootmaker on the London Stock Exchange.

What does this mean?

The initial public offering (IPO) won�t actually see Dr. Martens raise any fresh money from investors: it�s mostly just a way for owner Permira � which is in the business of buying companies and selling them on for a profit further down the line � to sell a portion of its shares. And with global stock markets rallying, it�s well-placed to fetch a good price for them: analysts are expecting the IPO to value Dr. Martens at more than $2.5 billion. This must be some reliable footwear, because that�s a big step up from the $450 million Permira paid all those years ago�

Why should I care?

Zooming in: These boots are made for listing.

Permira�s first move when it bought Dr. Martens was to boost the brand�s global presence, and its strategy seems to have paid off: the company sold 700,000 more boots between March and the end of September last year than the same time in 2019. That�s largely down to some shrewd investments in ecommerce, whose revenue over the same period jumped by 74%. And when you consider how many high-profile retail casualties there have been lately, that�s no mean feat.

The bigger picture: Happy new year!�

Permira�s announcement might come as a relief to European investors, who saw the number of blockbuster IPOs in the region lag behind America�s last year. And this could be just the start: there�s a long pipeline of companies reportedly set to list on the region�s markets in 2021 (tweet this). The London Stock Exchange, for its part, might be hoping to win as many of them over as it can � especially after the UK government�s recent announcement that it was reviewing how to make the country�s stock markets even more appealing.