Germany-based venture firm and incubator Rocket Internet set a target of €750m ($970m) yesterday for its forthcoming initial public offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
The IPO would value Rocket Internet at about €5bn ($6.45bn), people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The figure represents a considerable increase on the $4.5bn valuation at which telecommunications company PLDT invested $446m in Rocket Internet early last month.
The offering will consist only of new shares, with no existing shareholders selling. People familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that the company would float a stake sized between 10% and 15%.
Rocket Internet’s shareholders are investment firm Kinnevik, Global Founders Fund, which acts as Rocket founders the Samwer Brothers’ holding vehicle, United Internet, the internet company that invested $580m in Rocket a few weeks ago, PLDT, conglomerate Access Industries, Holtzbrinck Ventures, the corporate venturing fund for publisher Georg von Holtzbrinck, investment firm DST Global and Tengelmann Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of retailer Tengelmann.
The company plans to use the proceeds to accelerate its growth strategy as it seeks to build companies in developing markets while also consolidating the postions of its companies as it seeks to become the largest internet company outside the US or China.
Berenberg, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley are the joint global coordinators of the IPO, while BofA Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and UBS Investment Bank are serving as joint bookrunners.