Fredrik Cassel’s Post

💥 Exit 101 💥 The best talk I watched at Slush this year… Learnings from Maria Raga (Depop) and Frederik Cassel (Creandum) on selling Depop to Etsy for $1.625B: * Don’t try to sell your company before you’re truly ready. * “Companies should be bought not sold.“ - Maria. I.e. become attractive and try to get inbound requests rather than knocking on doors and being pressured to sell. * Best practice is to have >2 buyers to maximize the company price. (They didn’t have that in this case and instead made it clear that they were in no rush to sell. They also build out an IPO scenario for the company and used that valuation as an anchor.) * Having a good bank and lawyer onboard is invaluable. (Don’t get cheap with lawyers. It can quickly get technical and they are experienced at negotiation. You want to be able to focus on your business.) * Don’t show your cards too early but lean in when it’s needed. (Maria did that in the end when the board wasn’t 100% convinced they should sell.) * Be patient. It’s a rollercoaster.

One of my favorite sessions at Slush was “Exit 101”—a behind-the-scenes look at Depop’s $1.6B acquisition by Etsy. The session featured Maria Raga (former CEO of Depop) and Fredrik Cassel   (General Partner at Creandum) who sat on Depop’s board during the process. Together, they gave a fascinating play-by-play of how the acquisition unfolded. Here are my top takeaways from their conversation: 👉 Building leverage, even without competing offers — Fred shared how Depop couldn’t rely on competing bids to maximize value since Etsy was their sole buyer. Instead, they built a future IPO model, forecasting Depop’s value two years down the line. This became a key negotiating tool, showing Etsy that Depop didn’t need to sell to them. 👉 Keeping the board “neutral” — Maria emphasized the importance of maintaining an independent board. She avoided letting the board get overly attached to any single option, which allowed them to stay objective and focused on shareholder value. Only at the final meeting did she reveal how much the acquisition meant to her as CEO, which helped sway remaining board members. 👉 Expecting the unexpected — Maria recalled advice from an advisor: “Assume the acquisition won’t happen.” With most acquisitions falling through, this mindset helped her stay grounded—even when a last-minute call from an investor nearly derailed the deal. 👉 Don’t be cheap with lawyers — Maria thought an acquisition would be similar to a VC funding round—but it turned out to be far more complex. She credited great lawyers and an investment banker with helping Depop navigate the intricacies and maximize their valuation. 👉 Mixed emotions post-acquisition — Maria shared how she anticipated the acquisition would leave her feeling elated, but instead, she felt a mix of emptiness and pride. Meanwhile, Fred reflected on how VCs often want to hold onto their winners and would have been equally happy to see Depop remain independent. This session was a masterclass in navigating acquisitions, thank you Maria and Fred.

A lot of changes may be afoot at Etsy this year #etsy #activistinvestors #elliotmanagement #ecommerce https://buff.ly/3SOj4CX Elliott Management, a prominent investment management firm, has built a 13% position in Etsy's stock and now has representation on the company's board of directors. Elliott is known for its aggressive governance tactics and operates by acquiring a sizeable stake in undervalued companies and exerting pressure on management to meet its demands. Etsy has been struggling with competition from low-cost Chinese retailers and the influx of AI-generated junk on its platform. Attempting to grow new lines of business, Etsy has made several acquisitions in recent years, but the M&A strategy has had mixed results. Elliott's promise of steep cost-cutting has driven Etsy's stock up 10%.

A lot of changes may be afoot at Etsy this year #etsy #activistinvestors #elliotmanagement #ecommerce Elliott Management, a prominent investment management firm, has built a 13% position in Etsy's stock and now has representation on the company's board of directors. Elliott is known for its aggressive governance tactics and operates by acquiring a sizeable stake in undervalued companies and exerting pressure on management to meet its demands. Etsy has been struggling with competition from low-cost Chinese retailers and the influx of AI-generated junk on its platform. Attempting to grow new lines of business, Etsy has made several acquisitions in recent years, but the M&A strategy has had mixed results. Elliott's promise of steep cost-cutting has driven Etsy's stock up 10%.

If you asked a bunch of VCs at the end of 2023 if the IPO market would finally open again in 2024, most of them would have said yes. We know because TechCrunch surveyed more than 40 of them in December and that’s what they said. Yet, there are two weeks left in Q1, still no completed major IPOs, and very few in the works. Reddit is the only big-time IPO far enough along to be priced. Otherwise, there is just speculation on who might go public, with very few public SEC documents. For instance, there’s Shein, which reportedly filed a confidential S-1 last fall, or car rental marketplace Turo, which is still waiting on the sidelines after filing its initial S-1 in 2022. https://lnkd.in/gJc7qWzP

StubHub Prepares for IPO - StubHub, the operator of ticketing resale platforms StubHub and Viagogo, reported $350 million in EBITDA for the year ending in March, as it gears up for an IPO. The company generated $1.4 billion in revenue during this period and recorded $505 million of unlevered free cash flow. - StubHub is in the early stages of discussions with potential investors regarding its IPO, with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Bank of America acting as advisors. The IPO could be launched as soon as July, although final decisions have yet to be made, and details may change. - The timing of StubHub's IPO comes amidst significant legal challenges in the ticketing industry. The US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment, aiming to force the sale of its ticketing arm, Ticketmaster. This could potentially create a more competitive landscape for platforms like StubHub and Viagogo. - Previously, StubHub considered going public via a direct listing in 2022, with an estimated valuation exceeding $13 billion. The company had confidentially filed with the SEC at that time. - StubHub's competitor, Vivid Seats Inc., which went public through a merger with a blank-check company in 2021, has seen its shares decline by about 60% since listing. Vivid Seats reported $142 million in adjusted EBITDA and $712.9 million in revenue for 2023, trading at a multiple of approximately 12.2 times earnings. - StubHub and viagogo operate in over 90 countries. The company is led by CEO Eric Baker, one of StubHub's co-founders, who left before the company was sold to eBay for $310 million in 2007. Baker later founded Viagogo in Europe, which acquired StubHub for $4.05 billion in 2019. #StubHub #IPO #FinancialPerformance #TicketingIndustry #Viagogo #EBITDA #GoldmanSachs #JPMorgan #BankofAmerica #StockMarket

The Localzz to review staying privately owned or making a strategic merger or combination (path to IPO, partnership, sale, combination or to be acquired). Localzz might be looking to join a company set on a path for IPO. 1. Localzz sets for to 10 million total listings in 2025. Then mapping time frame to 25 million, and 100 million 2. Localzz looks to go from 106 marketplaces to over 500+ marketplaces. 3. Localzz looks to build, partner, or launch advertising SaaS and Listings SaaS to manage listings on 500+ marketplaces. Localzz.com #Localzz #StrategicPartnership #acquisition #partnership #IPO

The Localzz to review staying privately owned or making a strategic merger or combination (path to IPO, partnership, sale, or to be acquired). Localzz might be looking to join a company set on a path for IPO. 1. Localzz sets for to 10 million total listings in 2025. Then mapping time frame to 25 million, and 100 million 2. Localzz looks to go from 106 marketplaces to over 500+ marketplaces. 3. Localzz looks to build, partner, or launch advertising SaaS and Listings SaaS to manage listings on 500+ marketplaces. Localzz.com #Localzz #StrategicPartnership #acquisition #partnership #IPO

Our co-founder Kunal Bahl shares insights to help founders navigate the #IPO process in India. Here’s a brief overview to help founders on their IPO journey. #IPO #StartupInsights #Leadership

Casper went from a billion-dollar valuation to selling for just 30 cents on the dollar. They launched in 2014, disrupting the mattress industry with their direct-to-consumer model and popularising the “mattress in a box.” They made $1 million in their first month and hit $300 million in revenue by 2019, positioning themselves as a major DTC player. But behind the scenes, they were losing money on every sale. Venture capitalists kept funding their growth, betting on future profitability. Rising customer acquisition costs and increased competition added to their challenges, and Casper struggled to diversify beyond mattresses—a product people rarely repurchase. By the time of their IPO, they were losing around $300 per mattress. The IPO fell about 50% short of expectations, and eventually, Casper was sold for $286 million, below the total amount they’d raised. Casper’s story shows that scaling fast without a clear path to profitability can turn high growth into high risk.