German e-tailer About You eyes 4bn euro valuation in IPO

German fashion e-tailer About You has set a price range of between 21 euros to 26 euros a share for its float on the stock market, valuing it at around 4 billion euros.

The company, which is owned by Otto Group, said it aims to raise between 600 million euros and 941 million euros via a private placement which it will use to scale its offering internationally, accelerate the expansion of its software-as-a-service (SaaS), and strengthen its tech infrastructure and distribution centres.

Shares of the Hamburg-based company are expected to begin trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Wednesday June 16.

Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan are acting as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners on the deal, with Numis Securities, Societe Generale and UBS Investment Bank also acting as joint bookrunners.

Unlike some of its online rivals, About You couldn’t fully capitalise on consumers’ shift to online channels during the pandemic as demand for going-out fashion - which is one of its main categories - plummeted.

“We were not a lockdown winner,” co-founder Tarek Mueller said in a recent interview. “Our offering is geared more toward going-out clothes - there wasn’t much going out during the lockdowns, but we believe that there will be a big post-Covid pickup in that category. Investors clearly see us as a recovery play.”

Despite that, the company, which currently operates in 23 markets, managed to increase net sales by 57 percent in its 2020/21 financial year to 1.17 billion euros.