Luxury online retailer Farfetch is considering an IPO in New York that could value the company at as much as $5 billion, per Sky News. Founded in 2008, the ecommerce platform has been growing fast, attracting talent—appointing Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet as non-executive co-chairman earlier this year—and raising substantial funds along the way.
In 2015, Farfetch raised $86 million from investors, and last year it secured a $110 million Series F round, which reportedly valued the company at $1.5 billion, bringing its total raised VC to more than $350 million. The company’s backers include Index Ventures, Vitruvian Partners, DST Global and Greycroft Partners.
Though a flotation may still be some time off, the news should be read as positive for European unicorn companies. 2016 saw only four investments in companies which subsequently had billion-dollar-plus valuations, per the PitchBook Platform. This compares with 13 in 2015 and only two so far this year.
Yet the exit door could be about to open for several investors in these companies. For instance, Delivery Hero’s announcement that its plans to list in Frankfurt over the summer comes at a time when IPO rumours are also circulating about its fellow Rocket Internet-backed food delivery company Hello Fresh.
Unicorn investors, it appears, may finally be able to cash in their chips.
PitchBook Platform users can check out the full details on European unicorn companies. If you’re a non-user, check out Farfetch’s free profile.
Learn more about our editorial standards.
