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Rocket Internet wants to build more startups in 2019

The startup incubator Rocket Internet wants to build more companies in the current year than 2018, said CEO Oliver Samwer in a conference call with journalists. In the past year, several portfolio companies were listed on the stock exchange, others are in the starting blocks, currently there are only two left in the portfolio of selected companies. Why one of these, Jumia, which selects American stock exchange listing on the New York Stock Exchange, did not want to explain Samwer.

What has Rocket in mind?

Samwer did not want to comment on exactly which companies or which sectors Rocket currently has in mind for investment in construction. But you can see potential in concepts such as Expertlead, a platform that helps companies find tech freelancers. Other examples include the B2B Food Group, a caterer for businesses, and Instafreight, a freight booking platform. However, these companies are currently not candidates to be included in Rocket’s portfolio of selected companies, Samwer said. Overall, after the consumer-driven beginnings, they will now see more investment in B2B companies. The capital buffer is high with available cash of 2.0 billion euros at the end of February.

The MDAX-listed share was slightly weaker than the market at minus 1 percent in the morning

Rocket Internet is currently invested in more than 200 companies, mostly small tech startups that write mostly losses. Which of those have developed so well that they could next rise in Rocket’s portfolio of selected companies, Samwer did not want to say.

Following several IPOs – Hellofresh, Delivery Hero, Westwing and Home24 – the portfolio of selected companies now includes Global Fashion Group, an online fashion platform in emerging markets, and the African online distribution portal Jumia. Jumia Technologies AG is currently in the process of listing American Depositary Shares (ADS) on the NYSE. The Global Fashion Group should soon dare to set foot on the floor.

Jumia in the starting blocks for IPO over ADS on the NYSE

According to investor presentation Rocket currently holds 27.1 million shares in Jumia. The company currently offers 13.5 million ADSs to be placed on the NYSE at a price range of $ 13 to $ 16 per ADS. Each ADS should represent two ordinary shares each. According to a prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission at the end of March, Jumia expects to generate net proceeds of at least $ 254.1 million from the total transaction, assuming a median IPO price of $ 14.50 per ADS sets. This includes the IPO, as well as a private placement and so-called “anti-dilution shares”, which Jumia trades for the protection of certain shareholders. Full exercise of the allotment option by banks will allow net proceeds to increase to $ 281.5 million, according to the prospectus.

At the end of March, Jumia and Mastercard announced that Mastercard Europe will invest € 50 million in a private placement in parallel with Jumia’s IPO plans.

Jumia, an online platform in 14 African countries, hopes the NYSE listing will “increase our financial flexibility, increase our visibility and visibility, create a public market for our ads and facilitate our future access to the public stock markets “. According to the prospectus, Jumia does not expect to pay or pay out a cash dividend “in the foreseeable future”. Future profits would be held back to finance the growth and development of the business.


Also published on Medium.

Published inStartups
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