Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Vinted is discussing a share sale that could value the European second-hand fashion start-up at roughly €8bn in a deal that would underscore the platform’s expansion while allowing some early investors to cash out.
The fast-growing company is in preliminary discussions about selling existing shares in a transaction that could be worth several hundred million euros, according to people familiar with the matter.
Any process would be likely to kick off early next year, they added, while cautioning that talks were still at an early stage and no valuation or size had yet been set.
Lithuania-based Vinted last brought in new investors about a year ago at a €5bn valuation in a deal led by US investment group TPG that also included asset manager Baillie Gifford.
Chief executive Thomas Plantenga said on Friday that revenues were set to rise about 40 per cent to more than €1bn this year, from €813mn in 2024, off sales of items on its platform with a gross merchandise value of €10bn. Net profits roughly quadrupled last year to €76.7mn.
Founded in 2008 as a way for locals to swap clothes, Vinted in 2019 became Lithuania’s first $1bn technology start-up. Its previous backers include Accel, Insight Partners, EQT, Lightspeed and Sprints.
The company is now pushing beyond clothing into categories such as electronics, books, toys and video games as it seeks to capture more of the booming market for used goods. Vinted is also focusing on efficient shipping and payments.
“In the end, our vision is to make second-hand first choice . . . globally, and [for] any type of product you can imagine,” Plantenga told the Financial Times last year. “In the long term, we would try to go to other categories.”
At the time, he also hinted that the group could soon look at expanding into the US after having established itself in most European countries.
The company said on Friday it had started its first test to crack the US market by establishing a connection between London and New York that allows buyers and sellers in each location to trade with each other.
“The US market is very immature,” Plantenga told Bloomberg TV. “All the players that are there are struggling and the penetration levels of second-hand are very low. So for us, that’s a huge opportunity.”
Vinted could eventually pursue an initial public offering, Plantenga has said previously, although it does not have a set timetable.
Vinted declined to comment.