Levi Strauss (NYSE: LEVI) priced its initial public offering at $17.00 per share, the company announced late Wednesday.
That number comes in higher than the expected range, valuing the iconic denim company at about $6.6 billion and bringing its total raise to about $623 million.
The company was expected to price its offering of about 36.7 million Class A shares between $14.00 and $16.00
The stock is expected to begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "LEVI."
On Wednesday, at least one media outlet reported that the IPO was more than 10 times oversubscribed.
The 166-year-old company first went public in 1971, but has been private for the last 34 years.
Over the last 10 years, global jeans sales have climbed at a 3.5% compounded annual growth rate, slower than the entire apparel category, according to one analyst from Bernstein.
The newly public company hopes to improve market share with women, on the internet and in China. Its men's business accounted for $4 billion of Levi's $5.6-billion 2018 revenue, while just 3% of its revenue came from China.
In addition, the underwriters have a 30-day option to buy up to an additional 5,500,000 shares of Class A common stock from the company at the IPO price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The closing of the offering is expected for this coming Monday, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
