** Shares of Birkenstock BIRK.N down 4.9% at $56.86 premarket after German sandal maker launches secondary offering

** Co late Mon said affiliate of private equity firm L Catterton to sell 14 mln shares with Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan as jt bookrunners

** L Catterton, backed by French billionaire Bernard Arnault and luxury goods giant LVMH LVMH.PA, looking to reduce its stake from 81.1% to 73.2%, or ~137.5 mln shares

** Arnault owns ~10.4 mln BIRK shares, or 5.5% stake, through his family office, Financière Agache

** Michael Chu, L Catterton global co-CEO, said his firm remains "deeply committed" to BIRK, and "continue to be long-term partners who have deep conviction in the Company’s growth story," in the statement

** BIRK last month boosted annual forecasts, betting on full-price selling and strong demand

** Through Mon, BIRK's shares have gained 24% over the past month

** Stock hit intra-day record high of $61.83 on Thurs vs Oct IPO price of $46

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com
lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))