Dutch electronics retailer Coolblue expects to go public this month, after delays, as soon as the stock exchange authorities give permission. Coolblue will be listed on the Euronext market in Amsterdam. Co-founder and CEO Pieter Zwart has 51 percent of the shares, with investment company HAL holding the other 49 percent.
HAL has a book value of EUR 250 million on its stake. Analysts expects the IPO to value the company at EUR 3-4 billion, and possibly up to EUR 6 billion. After the IPO, 20-30 percent of Coolblue shares will be traded on the stock exchange. The exact valuation for the retailer has yet to be determined.
Coolblue plans to use the money raised from the IPO to further expand, with physical stores in Belgium and Germany.
The company reported revenues of EUR 2 billion in 2020, up 34 percent than the year before, with operating profit jumping 137.5 percent to EUR 114 million. The company reported earlier that 1.75 million deliveries were made in 2020, from 984,000 the year before. The retailer has opened additional stores recently, in Leiden and Hasselt, plus a flagship shop in Brussels. The company also invested in new propositions such as solar panels, charging stations and energy supply.
