Rocket Internet set to found more companies in 2019 (updated)

Westwing SE

04/04/2019 09:04

(Adds details, background)
    BERLIN, April 4 (Reuters) - German ecommerce investor Rocket
Internet  RKET.DE  will set up more companies in 2019 than last
year, it said on Thursday, as investors raise questions about
the company's direction now most of its big holdings are listed
or on track to go public.
    "We expect to build more companies than in 2018," Chief
Executive Oliver Samwer told journalists, without giving a
figure or a comparable number for 2018. 
    Rocket highlighted three start-ups with particular
potential: Expertlead, a platform that helps companies find tech
freelancers; B2B Food Group, a catering company for businesses;
and Instafreight, a freight booking platform.
    However, Samwer added he did not anticipate that any of its
current smaller holdings would graduate to become more
established companies this year.
    He said Rocket had cash reserves of about 2 billion euros
($2.3 billion), similar to a year ago, showing it had not made
major investments. But Samwer said the tech market moved fast
and it needed the cash to be able to seize opportunities.
    Rocket said its stakes in unlisted ecommerce firms Global
Fashion Group and Jumia, plus about another 200 smaller private
start-ups, were worth about 1.2 billion euros.
    Samwer said Rocket had invested about 400 million euros in
those companies, adding that about two-thirds of the estimated
total value of its holdings in private companies were related to
smaller firms.
    Rocket has stakes in food groups HelloFresh  HFGG.DE  and
Delivery Hero  DHER.DE , as well as online home furnishings
sites Westwing  WEW.DE  and Home24  H24.DE , which all have been
listed in recent years. 
    Jumia, its African ecommerce platform, filed last month for 
a New York initial public offering, which could value the firm
at $1.6 billion or more. Global Fashion Group is also expected
to pursue a listing soon.
    ($1 = 0.8894 euros)

 (Reporting by Emma Thomasson and Nadine Schimroszik; Editing by
Tassilo Hummel and Mark Potter
)
 ((Riham.Alkousaa@thomsonreuters.com;))