US-based online luxury retailer Rue Gilt Groupe has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq Stock Market with a $100m placeholder target, potentially marking an exit for real estate developer Simon Property Group.
Created in 2018 from Rue La La’s acquisition of Gilt Groupe, the company provides an online platform where shoppers can buy luxury brands at lower prices than full retail.
Rue Gilt plans to use the proceeds from the offering to grow its sales and marketing capacity along with its operational and capital expenditures. It had secured $280m in funding from Simon in October 2019.
Gilt Groupe had raised a total of $290m as of a $50m series F round in 2015, from investors including internet and telecommunications group SoftBank, General Atlantic, Goldman Sachs, Matrix Partners, New Enterprise Associates, DFJ Growth, TriplePoint Capital, Pinnacle Ventures and Eastward Capital.
Kynetic, the parent company of RueLaLa, is one of its two biggest shareholders, with a 46.7% stake, while Simon owns another 46.7%.
Citigroup Global Markets, BofA Securities, Wells Fargo Securities, Cowen and Company, Piper Sandler and William Blair are the underwriters for the offering.
