Soccer star Lionel Messi’s clothing brand is attempting to rate its IPO this week on hopes that a new year and the glamor of Argentina’s World Cup win will boost demand on Wall Street.
The forward’s casual clothing line, The Messi Brand, is produced by MGO Global, which aims to sell 1.5 million shares at $5 a share and go public on the Nasdaq this week. At that price, the company will have a market cap of $66 million.
MGO is led by Ginny Hilfiger, who co-founded MGO in 2018 after a lengthy overhaul of the FILA Global brand. Hilfiger is the younger sister of Tommy Hilfiger, for whom she held various managerial positions. MGO is presented as a lifestyle brand portfolio that will host multiple lines from various celebrities, although Messi is currently the company’s only active line.
Hilfiger works closely with the Argentine striker to design the Messi brand’s line of parkas, hoodies, graphic tees and other casual wear, including gear featuring designs of the Argentine’s floral and crown tattoos. The prospectus states that the use of different fabrics and materials will produce “garments that are as technically advanced as Messi’s playing on the field”. The MGO license with the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner excludes all sports shoes – Adidas has these rights – as well as technical sports equipment. Also excluded are pajamas, bath linens, backpacks, and other items that the file indicates are intended for children under the age of 13.
Messi is not a shareholder of the company. Instead, he gets 12% of Messi brand sales with a minimum guarantee of €4 million via the three-year global license deal that ends in December 2024. MGO has no guarantee that the license will be renewed at this time.
So far, The Messi Brand’s business is relatively small: MGO sold $336,103 worth of goods in the nine months ended September 2022, according to the prospectus, with a net loss of $2.1 million. It focuses on social media and influencers to increase visits to its online Messi store.
The offering is being led by Boustead Securities, an Irvine, California-based brokerage firm that took Esports Technologies public in 2021.
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