E-commerce company Global-e targeting unicorn status in Nasdaq IPO
The company said it plans to raise $100 million, but it is believed that it could end up with as much as $300 million at a valuation of more than $1 billion
Israeli e-commerce company, Global-e, is going public on Nasdaq, filing on Monday a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Calcalist first reported Global-e's plans last December. According to the filing, the company reached revenue of $136 million in 2020 and registered a profit of $8 million. Globel-e reported year-on-year growth of 100%. The company said it plans to raise $100 million, but it is believed that it could end up with as much as $300 million at a valuation of more than $1 billion. Global-e requested to be traded under the symbol "GLBE."
Global-e provides a technological solution for a variety of international e-commerce sites, and allows them to offer their customers price conversions based on their local currency, while calculating taxes, marketing messages in the customer’s own language, as well as offer them shipping and returns services. The startup was founded in 2013 by three former Bank Hapoalim employees, Amir Schlachet, Shahar Tamari, and Nir Debbi. The three started the company in light of their shared hobby of online shopping, and after recognizing that customers from other countries who make purchases online suffer from problems that are often frustrating because the interface is not suited to global consumers’ needs.
Last June, Global-e raised $60 million in a round that was led by the international investment fund Vitruvian. The global shipping giant DHL, which has invested in Global-e in the past, and is also the company’s strategic partner, also took part in the round. In its latest financing round, the company was valued at over half a billion dollars.
An additional investor in the company is Zehavit Cohen’s AMI fund, Apex Israel, which invested $20 million in 2018 and is expected to make a tenfold profit on its investment. The 2018 round was the company’s latest up until last June, with the most recent one considered a pre-IPO round.
