Venture Beat 3 September 2012
US financial firm JP Morgan is continuing to buy up stakes in select Rocket Internet online fashion retailers – first in Europe (Zalando), then in Brazil (Dafiti) and now in Russia, with Rocket’s Lamoda today announcing a cash-for-equity deal, terms undisclosed.
According to an insider source speaking to Russian newspaper Kommersant, the deal could be worth between $40 and $80 million, which would make it one of the largest investments so far in a fashion e-commerce company in Russia.
Lamoda, founded one-and-a-half years ago by Dominik Picker, Florian Jansen, Burkhard Binder and Niels Tonsen, now employs 800 people and claims about five million unique users.
It’s just one of about 100 companies built by Berlin-headquartered , best-known for fast execution and a track record of cloning promising US businesses in new markets. The Samwer brothers – Oliver, Marc and Alexander – founded Rocket in 2007.