If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, than the brothers Sawmer (Marc, Oliver and Alexander), the three founders of Germany’s Rocket Internet, are the worlds most accomplished and sincere flatterers. Rocket is famous for taking successful, but exactly trademark or patentable, e-commerce ideas from e-Bay, to Groupon to Airbnb, and replicating them in different markets.
They may soon be extraordinarily wealthy flatterers, if they are able to to raise the $1.8 billion dollars they are hoping to net in their forthcoming IPO.
Rocket will offer around 32.9 million new shares at 35.50 euros to 42.50 euros apiece, has enough orders to cover the sale across the price range, reports Bloomberg.
“The fewer stores a country has, the faster e-commerce grows,”CEO Oliver Sawmer told a room full of reporters and executives is Frankfurt . “Whoever doesn’t believe that can look at the Alibaba (BABA) prospectus.”
Rocket has compared its business model with that of Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce operator, and plans to use the proceeds from what is forecasted to be Europe’s biggest IPO this year to expand further into developing market like Latin America.
“The goal is to one day be a leader in the Internet field outside the U.S. and China,” said Oliver Samwer.
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