It’s official: Rocket Internet is going public with a $970m IPO in Germany this year

Rocket Internet, the European incubator-cum-global-super-cloner, has confirmed rumors that it will list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange before the end of the year. The Berlin-based company plans to raise €750 million, around $970 million, by offering primary-only capital — that means no existing shareholders will cash out.

The company — which says it wants to become “the largest Internet platform outside of the United States and China” — has been busy on the investment front in recent weeks. Over the past month it sold a 10 percent stake to PLTD, and a 10.7 percent share to United Internet, while long-time investor Holtzbrinck swapped its investment in seven Rocket Internet startups for a 2.5 percent share in the main company.

Just last week, it merged five of its international e-commerce businesses under one roof, offering further proof of its IPO ambition. Rocket Internet’s most recent investment deal valued the company at around $4.5 billion.