Rocket Internet doubles IPO size due to high demand

The website incubator has also pushed its public offering up a week, will go public on October 2nd

It's been only a week since we saw the record-breaking Alibaba IPO, but it looks like we could have another gigantic public offering to watch and very soon. Grab your popcorn!

Website incubator Rocket Internet announced earlier this month that it was going public. It said that, in the offering, it was looking to raise a total of $1 billion in what would be one of the biggest German IPO in years.

Rocket Internet, true to its name, was definitely aiming high, and that strategy seems to have been a good one because now everyone wants a piece of the companu. The offering has become so popular and so in demand, in fact, that the company is doubling the target size of its initial public offering to almost $2 billion, according to a report from Bloomberg 

Rocket Internet has increased the amount it’s seeking to raise  €1.4 billion, or $1.8 billion, due to larger than expected investor demand. Going public at that size would make it the biggest share sale in Germany this year. It also announced that it will be pushing its public offering up a week, getting set to debut on October 2nd, one week ahead of schedule.

The company has set its IPO price at between €35.50 and €42.50, which would value the company as high as €6.5 billion, or $8.4 billion.

Founded in 2007, Rocket Internet calls itself "the world’s largest Internet platform outside the United States and China." It has established, or invested in, over 70 companies, many of which have raised funding in recent years.

They include online fashion shop Zalora, which has raised $238 Million; e-commerce giant Lazada, which has raised $436 Million; e-hailing app Easy Taxi, which has raised $77 million;  online shopping platform Jumai, which has raised $61 million; and FoodPanda, which has raised $108 million. 

Rocket Internet now employs more than 20,000 people across its network of companies, which operate in more than 100 countries on five continents.

The company headquartered in Berlin, and operates a network of 25 international Rocket offices.

If Rocket Internet's IPO is successful, it might have a positive effect on the European IPO market overall, according to Bloomberg.

European IPOs are already more than double what they were in the same period last year, and companies like Goodgame Studio. Mind Candy, Rovio and Spotify might have a better time finding potential investors if the market begins to heat up.

Of those companies, Spotify would seem the most likely to go public, as it one of the most popular music streaming services in a very crowded field with 40 million active users. Rovio, on the other hand, seems less likely, given the track record of other game studios that entered the public markets, and the fact that its signature Angry Birds game has lost a lot of traction over the last couple of years. 

VatorNews has reached out to Rocket Internet for comment. We will update if we learn more. 

(Image source: rocket-internet.com)