How the Silicon Valley sneaker that was once worth $4 billion ended up selling for $39M

The wool sneaker brand that briefly hit a $4 billion valuation in 2021 has agreed to sell all its assets and IP to American Exchange Group.

The company is dissolving. Shares jumped 36% after-hours because $39M is still a premium over where they were already trading.

Allbirds has agreed to sell all of its intellectual property and assets to American Exchange Group for $39 million, roughly one-tenth of the $348 million it raised in its 2021 IPO, and a fraction of the more than $4 billion valuation it briefly commanded on its first trading day.

The company plans to dissolve entirely once the deal closes. The sale, which needs shareholder approval, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, with net proceeds distributed to stockholders in the third quarter after wind-down expenses are accounted for.

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The deal’s grimness is sharpened by one detail: Allbirds’ shares closed Monday at $2.98, giving the company a market cap of around $24.5 million. The $39 million sale price was a premium over where the stock already sat.

Shares jumped about 36% in after-hours trading on the news, a measure of how far expectations had already fallen. Revenue had declined 22% over the past twelve months to $161 million; the company was running a negative EBITDA of approximately $75 million.

Allbirds had also closed all of its US full-price stores by February 2026, retaining only two UK stores and two US outlet locations.

The decline of Allbirds is a well-worn cautionary tale about what happens when a brand built on a singular product idea, the Wool Runner, a $95 sneaker made from Merino wool that Time magazine once called “the world’s most comfortable shoes”, tries to become a lifestyle company.

After its 2021 IPO, Allbirds expanded aggressively into physical retail and new product categories: leggings, jackets, performance running shoes. None of them connected with the customer base that had bought in for the original product. Losses accumulated.

Co-founder Tim Brown later acknowledged the expansion had cost the company “some of our DNA.”

American Exchange Group (AXNY), which is acquiring the brand, is an 18-year-old privately held brand management company in the accessories and licensing space. Its existing portfolio includes Aerosoles, Jonathan Adler, White Mountain, Ed Hardy, and Born, among others.

The Allbirds deal was negotiated by a special committee of independent directors and received unanimous Board approval. TD Cowen is acting as Allbirds’ financial advisor; Holland & Hart is legal counsel.