A Dapper Unicorn: Europe Fashion Site Snags $110m Series F Round by PitchBook
European fashion ecommerce site Farfetch is now reportedly valued at $1.5 billion and has raised more than $300 million in total VC. The company’s new investment, which was led by Eurazeo, Temasek and IDG Capital Partners, comes just 14 months after it raised an $86 million Series E round at a reported valuation of $1 billion. As a fashion marketplace, the site offers clothing and accessories from brands including Dolce & Gabbana, Saint Laurent and Valentino for women, men and kids, taking a percentage of each sale from its partners. Farfetch is one of Europe’s dozen unicorns, though it is said to not yet be profitable.
One of the company’s new investors stated, “I think IPO is obviously the next milestone for the company, but we don’t yet know when.” This thought underscores the growing problem in venture of highly valued companies staying private longer while taking on more investment, especially without turning a profit. These “private IPO” rounds are putting investors in a bind, as each new financing potentially pushes the exit window further into the future. With the M&A market looking pretty dismal as of late and IPOs becoming more scarce, there just doesn’t look to be many exit opportunities for these unicorns and their investors to realize a return above their current, or future, private valuation.
PitchBook Platform users can check out the full details on Europe’s unicorn companies.
