Investment AB Kinnevik (publ) ("Kinnevik") today announced that it has signed an agreement with Rocket Internet to transfer indirectly held Zalando shares into direct ownership. Following the transfer, Kinnevik now directly controls 37.5% of the company.
Zalando is the largest online player by net revenues in the fashion sector in Europe. The company started its operations in Germany in 2008 and today operates online shops also in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Poland. Zalando has grown rapidly and reported net sales of EUR 1,159m in 2012 and EUR 372m in the first quarter of 2013.
CEO of Kinnevik, Mia Brunell Livfors, commented:
"Zalando is a core holding in Kinnevik's portfolio and by transferring the indirectly held shares into direct ownership we further strengthen the governance of Zalando and our ability to work actively with the company to execute its growth strategy and further strengthen its position as a leading European e-commerce company. "
Separately, Zalando announced today that Anders Holch Povlsen, owner of the fashion company BESTSELLER, joined the Zalando shareholder group. The company press release is attached.
The information is of such character, which Kinnevik shall disclose in accordance with the law on Trading with Financial Instruments (1991:980) and/or the Securities Market Act (2007:528). The information was distributed for disclosure at 9.00 a.m. on 13 August 2013.
For further information, visit www.kinnevik.se (http://www.kinnevik.se/) or contact:
| Mikael Larsson, Chief Financial Officer | +46 (0)70 762 00 70 |
| Torun Litzén, Director Investor Relations | +46 (0)70 762 00 83 |
Investment AB Kinnevik was founded in 1936 and thus embodies seventyfive years of entrepreneurship under the same group of principal owners. Kinnevik's objective is to increase shareholder value, primarily through net asset value growth. The company's holdings of growth companies are focused around the following business sectors; Telecom & Financial services, Online, Media and Industry and other investments. Kinnevik has a long history of investing in emerging markets which has resulted in a considerable exposure to consumer sectors in these markets. Kinnevik plays an active role on the Boards of its holdings.
The Kinnevik's class A and class B shares are admitted to trading on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm's list for large cap companies, within the financial and real estate sector. The ticker codes are KINV A and KINV B.
The owner of this announcement warrants that:
(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and
(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the
information contained therein.
Source: Kinnevik via Thomson Reuters ONE
