Berlin: German venture capital group Rocket Internet is set to unveil plans on Wednesday to float a stake of just below 15 percent in the company in an IPO worth about 750 million euros ($970 million), two sources familiar with the transaction told Reuters on Tuesday.
The move comes just a week after Zalando, Europe`s biggest online fashion player that it helped launch, said it was aiming to raise more than 500 million euros by listing a 10-11 percent stake on the Frankfurt stock exchange this year.
The companies join a flurry of e-commerce flotations set to be crowned by Chinese giant Alibaba next week.
Rocket Internet is bidding to create the largest Internet empire outside the United States and China. It wants to replicate the success of Amazon and Alibaba in markets the U.S. and Chinese e-commerce groups have yet to dominate, such as Africa, Latin America, Russia and other parts of Asia.
Founded in 2007 by brothers Oliver, Alexander and Marc Samwer, Rocket is active in more than 100 countries, making revenue of $1 billion in 2013 via e-commerce and online marketplaces for everything from taxis to meal deliveries.
