German startup factory Rocket Internet to delist from stock market

Berlin-based startup investor and incubator Rocket Internet (RKET.DE) has announced it will delist from the Frankfurt and Luxembourg stock exchanges, after the value of its stock has fallen by around 13% this year.

Rocket Internet, which went public in 2014 at a valuation of around €8.2bn (£7.3bn, $9.8bn), said in a press release today that it is “better positioned as a company not listed on a stock exchange.”

"The significance of capital markets as a financing source has diminished,” Rocket said. “A delisting will permit Rocket Internet to pursue a long-term approach in its strategic decisions.”

The company, which was founded in 2007, and currently has a market valuation of €2.6bn, wrote that delisting means it will be “able to focus on a long-term development irrespective of temporary circumstances capital markets tend to put emphasis on.”

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Rocket is offering to repurchase shares €18.57 per share, and will re-buy up to 8.84% — nearly 12 million shares — of its stock before 15 September.

Rocket is one of Berlin’s biggest tech success stories — it has launched and brought to IPO such tech giants as Zalando, Europe’s biggest e-fashion platform, as well as Delivery Hero, HelloFresh, and Home24. However, Rocket has struggled to keep pumping out the hits in recent years.

Delivery Hero joined the DAX 30 in August, replacing the scandal-hit German payments giant Wirecard.