Mytheresa planning U.S. IPO

By

Robin Driver

Published
Nov 12, 2020

German luxury fashion e-tailer Mytheresa.com GmbH is reportedly planning to capitalize on the strength of the digital market during the Covid-19 pandemic with an IPO in the U.S. in early 2021.

 
According to a Business of Fashion report citing people familiar with the manner, the e-commerce company specialized in luxury womenswear is currently working with advisers to prepare for the IPO. It is hoping to achieve a valuation of between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, but these figures may change in accordance with the business’ performance over the holiday season.
 
Mytheresa has also apparently received preliminary interest from listed blank-check firms, which are known as special purpose acquisition companies.

Founded near Munich in 2006, Mytheresa was acquired by American department store operator Neiman Marcus in 2014, in a transaction that totaled $253 million including additional payments linked to the company’s performance.
 
In 2018, as part of efforts to move the business out of the reach of creditors, Neiman Marcus transferred Mytheresa to its then owners, Ares Management Corp. and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
 
Following Neiman Marcus’ filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May of this year, a group of unsecured creditors successfully negotiated a partial stake in the German e-commerce platform in exchange for their agreement with the department store retailer’s reorganization plan. Ares and CPPIB have maintained their majority stake in the company.
 
E-commerce businesses have seen a sustained boost in their sales during the coronavirus crisis, as consumers have been forced to seek alternatives to traditional retail locations by temporary store closures or have simply turned away from brick-and-mortar in favor of safer shopping channels.
 
It’s no surprise then that, according to Bloomberg, internet companies have completed $18.3 billion of IPOs this year. Elsewhere, Mytheresa’s London-based rival Farfetch, which has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since September 2018, has seen its shares nearly quadruple in value over the course of 2020.
 
Another market experiencing strong growth in the midst of the pandemic is resale, a fact which has led online fashion resale marketplaces ThredUp and Poshmark to make IPO filings of their own over the last few months.