- From January to September, the company’s GMV practically doubled compared to a year earlier;
- Westwing was acquired in 2018 by fund manager Axxo based in Rio de Janeiro.
The e-commerce platform for products for home and decoration Westwing asked this Friday to register for an initial public offering (IPO), reinforcing the tendency of Brazilian companies to seek resources in the market to finance growth projects, in the wake of the e-commerce explosion after the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Created in 2011 as a unit of a homonymous German company, Westwing was acquired in 2018 by fund manager Axxo based in Rio de Janeiro.
Currently, the company also has a group of individual investors that will be sellers in the secondary offering of shares. The offer will be led by BTG Pactual, XP, JPMorgan, and Citi.
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With a focus on decorative items, Westwing gradually expanded the product shelf to include cosmetics, clothing, appliances, tapestry, lighting, as well as interior design and architecture services.
From January to September, the company’s GMV practically doubled compared to a year before, to BRL 270 million, while Ebitda grew almost four times, to 10.36 million.
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In the prospectus of the offer, Westwing says it intends to use the resources from the sale of new shares to further accelerate its core business, invest in its brand, in technology and logistics.
The announcement reinforces the wave of companies specializing in e-commerce looking for resources to finance growth plans, after social isolation to contain the coronavirus pandemic has severely limited brick-and-mortar trade.
In October, the logistics firm specialized in e-commerce Sequoia made its debut at Brazilian stock B3, weeks before the arrival of the online thrift shop Enjoei also listed on the São Paulo stock exchange.
The digital wine trading platform Wine also announced IPO plans, but later paused it due to stock market volatility.
(Translated by LABS)
