Six years ago, Rocket Internet went public with ambitious goals. Now the holding company wants to say goodbye to the floor again. The capital market has meanwhile lost its importance for Berliners.
The billion dollar startup investor Rocket Internet wants to leave the stock exchange. To this end, he offers his shareholders the repurchase of their shares at the legal minimum price, which, according to calculations by the Berlin company, is EUR 18.57 per share, as announced by the MDax Group. At the same time, the company announced a share buyback program for the acquisition of 8.84 percent of the shares, which should run until September 15. Here, too, Rocket Internet is offering 18.57 euros, which is less than Monday's closing price of 18.95.
For Rocket Internet, which was last valued at around 2.6 billion euros on the stock exchange, the use of the capital market as a financing option has lost its importance. Outside the stock exchange, a longer-term approach can be followed in strategic decisions, the company justified the planned delisting. Founder and CEO Oliver Samwer as well as Global Founders GmbH, which together hold almost 50 percent of the shares, want to hold on to their shares, as the group further announced.
Rocket Internet went public in 2014 with an issue price of EUR 42.50 per share, but the high expectations were not fulfilled. On Monday, the share went from trading at EUR 18.95 – but it was above the amount of the buyback offer that had been promised. Nevertheless, the share gained 2.6 percent in early trading in Frankfurt. An extraordinary general meeting on September 24th should clear the way for saying goodbye to the trading floor. Since a simple majority is sufficient, the resolution should be a formality thanks to the votes of Samwer and Global Founders GmbH.
.