Sequoia Capital to invest in Auto1 prior to IPO – report

The report added that the shares acquired by Sequoia are valued at €50m. Lone Pine Capital is also to acquire €50m's worth of shares, according to the report, which added that the selling shareholder is DN Capital.

Auto1 said in a statement issued in January 2021 that it is currently preparing for an IPO to take place before the end of Q1 2021. The company expects to generate around €1bn from the potential listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank are acting as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners, while Barclays, HSBC, Numis Securities and RBC Capital Markets are also acting as joint book runners.

Crédit Agricole, Commerzbank, Mizuho Securities and Wells Fargo Securities are acting as co-lead managers.

Berlin-headquartered Auto1 was founded in 2012 and reported revenues of €3.5bn in 2019.

The company first received VC backing in January 2013, when Cherry Ventures backed a seed round for the business.

Piton Capital led Auto1's series-A, series-B and series-C rounds in 2013 and 2014. In April 2015, Piton Capital led a $118m series-D round for Auto1, investing alongside DN Capital.

Princeville, Baillie Gifford and Target Global led a €360m series-E funding round for Auto1 in May 2017. The round was a mix of debt and equity financing with participation from JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Citi, BNP Paribas and BHF Bank. At the time, the company generated a €2.5bn valuation.

Softbank led a €460m round for Auto1 in January 2018, investing via its first Vision Fund to acquire a 20% stake in the company. The round valued Auto1 at €2.9bn.

Sequoia could not be reached for comment.

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