(Reuters) – Softbank will invest 500 million zlotys ($130 million) in the Polish online shoe shop eobuwie ahead of its planned initial public offering (IPO), its majority shareholder retailer CCC said on Saturday.
“The deal will ensure the appropriate level of financing of eobuwie.pl’s business plan, allowing its expansion to be speeded up the company’s fundamentals to be strengthened,” CCC said.
It will also bolster the ownership structure of eobuwie.pl, preceding its IPO, which is planned within the next 12-24 months, CCC added.
SoftBank Vision Fund 2, part of Softbank group, will buy eobuwie bonds, convertible into shares.
The bonds will automatically be converted into eobuwie shares in the event of its IPO or a “similar” transaction, CCC said. The fund can also exercise the conversion at a fixed equity valuation of 6 billion zlotys of eobuwie.
CCC, Poland’s biggest shoe retailer, has seen brick-and-mortar sales slide due to the pandemic and started to look for a minority investor for eobuwie last year as it tried to boost online sales.
Earlier this year, it sold a 20% stake in eobuwie to media and telecoms firm Cyfrowy Polsat and A&R Investments Ltd for 1 billion zlotys.
($1 = 3.8058 zlotys)
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
