HomeToGo is an online marketplace for vacation homes – and apparently inspires investors. The company sees a valuation in the billions.
The holiday home marketplace HomeToGo was valued at a billion euros when it went public.
The planned merger with the IPO auxiliary vehicle Lakestar Spac values the Airbnb competitor with an equity value of 1.2 billion euros, as the companies announced in Luxembourg on Wednesday. The deal is expected to close in the current third quarter, it said. The companies had already made plans for such a project public at the beginning of June. The share of the Lakestar Spac (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) rose slightly to just over 10 euros on Wednesday evening after hours on the Tradegate trading platform.
HomeToGo previously lists tens of thousands of providers and operates 23 country-specific websites and apps. The company was founded in 2014 and has more than 250 employees.
Lakestar boss Klaus Hommels took in 275 million euros in February through a direct placement with institutional investors for 27.5 million Lakestar Spac shares. Shortly thereafter, the paper was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. There it went up to 12.32 euros on the first few days of trading, but then the air was quickly out again and the paper fluctuated around the issue price of 10 euros.
So-called Spacs are financial vehicles in which well-known investors collect money through an IPO in order to later take over a company. The companies do not have a specific goal in mind at the time, but only lure with the promise to find a good one. So Spac investors issue a kind of blank check to the management of the vehicle.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
