Dr. Martens shareholder reportedly pushing for strategic review

A shareholder for Dr. Martens is believed to be urging the boot maker to begin a strategic review that could end with a sale in a bid to secure a stronger share price.

According to a letter seen by Reuters, investment firm Marathon Partners Equity Management is calling for such a process due to a stalled earnings growth and sharp share price drop of 83 percent since its IPO in 2021 which it said have devalued the business.

The letter, addressed to chairman Paul Mason, suggested that Dr. Martens could possibly secure higher earnings as a private company or as part of a larger conglomerate.

Marathon Partners’ managing director, Mario Cibelli, wrote that the brand, currently valued at 1.1 billion dollars, could snap up a two billion dollar acquisition deal for its assets.

Cibelli added that a strategic buyer “could add further scale to operations, create new synergies and eliminate unnecessary overhead”, while expressing support for the brand’s CEO Kenny Wilson, who he called “an open-minded and talented executive”.

The investor’s concern arose when he said that the company would have a “very difficult time earning its way to a share price that well exceeds what could reasonably be expected to result from an auction process”.