Phil Knight and Insiders Retained 56% of Nike at IPO
Ben Gilbert · Nike (Audio) · Acquired · Jul 25, 2023 · at 3:36:36
Ben Gilbert describes how Nike's early strategy of extreme financial leverage allowed co-founder Phil Knight and the leadership team to retain majority ownership through the 1980 IPO.
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“Phil Knight basically never took on any equity investors, and so he took no dilution. He and his management team and Bill Bowerman owned 56% at IPO, him owning 46% because he just kept betting the farm all on debt and basically had no buffer at all.”
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