SoftBank-Backed Car Website Auto1 Ramps Up IPO Prep

28 Aug 2020, 10:25 PM IST

(Bloomberg) -- Auto1 Group GmbH, the German online used-car marketplace, is ramping up preparations for a planned initial public offering, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The company is inviting banks to pitch for a role on the share sale, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. It is considering Frankfurt as a listing venue, the people said.

Auto1 was valued at about 2.9 billion euros ($3.4 billion) when SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund invested in 2018. The Berlin-based ccompany is aiming for a valuation above that level in the IPO, the people said. It plans to pitch investors on the resilience of its business at a time when physical car showrooms have been closed due to Covid lockdowns, according to one of the people.

IPOs of German companies have raised $609 million this year, down 66% from the same period in 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Listings are slowly starting to return as the market shrugs off the coronavirus pandemic, with camper van maker Knaus Tabbert GmbH and defense supplier Hensoldt among firms gauging investor demand, Bloomberg News reported this month.

Auto1 announced in July it raised 255 million euros in a fresh round of funding by selling convertible notes to Farallon Capital Management, Baupost Group and existing investors including SoftBank. Co-founder Christian Bertermann said in an interview at the time that Auto1 could consider an IPO in the future.

The company, which runs websites including Auto1.com and Autohero, reported sales rose 21% last year to 3.5 billion euros. Deliberations on the potential listing are still at an early stage, and details of the offering could change, the people said. A representative for Auto1 declined to comment.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc., BNP Paribas SA and BHF-Bank AG were involved in a 2017 debt-and-equity financing for Auto1. The company has facilitated more than 2 million car sales since 2012, according to a July press release.