Noerr supports the IPO of Africa's largest e-commerce provider, Jumia, on the New York Stock Exchange

16.04.2019

Noerr has advised e-commerce company Jumia Technologies AG on its IPO in New York. If the greenshoe option were to be fully exercised, the gross amount issued in the IPO would be up to US$222 million. Jumia is Africa's only "unicorn" so far and the first African tech company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The holding company is a German stock corporation whose shares have been securitised in the form of American Depositary Shares (ADS). The ADS are now traded on the NYSE.

Noerr advised Jumia comprehensively on all company-law measures, in particular on the change of legal form from a Germany limited liability company to a stock corporation, as well as on all preparatory corporate action and other structural measures and on the stock option programme for the executive board and employees.

In addition, prior to the IPO Noerr advised Jumia on equity financing by the French Pernod Ricard group and on a private placement of the US financial group Mastercard totalling €50 million, which will be executed at the same time as the IPO.

The transaction was supported by a banking consortium led by Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Global Markets and Berenberg Capital Markets. Other banks included RBC Capital Markets, Raymond James & Associates, Stifel Nicolaus & Company and William Blair & Company. 

Jumia is Africa's largest online marketplace. The company, based in Berlin, started its activities in Nigeria in 2012 and has expanded over the course of time to 14 African countries. Jumia is active in a variety of industries, including fashion, electronics and food sales, real estate, logistics, hotel and flight bookings. Its largest shareholder is MTN Group Ltd., Africa's largest mobile operator. Other shareholders include Millicom, Rocket Internet, Goldman Sachs, Axa, Orange, CDC and Blakeney.

On the legal side, Jumia was supported by an interdisciplinary team of Noerr lawyers led by Sascha Leske, Dominik Rompza and Ralph Schilha. The firm has advised Jumia since its inception and in all previous rounds of financing.

With its support for the IPO, Noerr was once again able to successfully consolidate and prove its corporate-law expertise in a cross-functional advisory team. Noerr has recently been a key player in numerous IPOs, including Westwing and home24, and just recently advised Gateway Real Estate AG on its first successful IPO this year in Frankfurt. A Noerr team has also assisted the travel platform trivago with its NASDAQ debut in New York.

Advisors to Jumia

Noerr LLP: Dr Sascha Leske (Berlin/New York), Dominik Rompza (Berlin, both Private Equity), Dr Ralph Schilha (Capital Markets, Munich, all joint lead), Dr Julian Schulze De la Cruz (Capital Markets, Frankfurt), Dr Stefan Schwab (Employment & Pensions, Berlin), Dr Florian-Felix Marquardt (Tax, Berlin); Associates: Anne-Kristin Schiller (Munich/New York), Jochen Lang (Munich, both Capital Markets), Christian Burmeister, Dr Franziska Kühn, Ethel Nanaeva, Dr Manuel Weiss, Robert Marx (all Berlin), Dr Julia Baldus (Munich; all Corporate), Lucie Rohr (Private Equity; Berlin)

Sullivan & Cromwell (Frankfurt)

Advisors to the banks: Latham & Watkins