The first attempt to raise money for expansion through an IPO blew Autodoc
in 2021 at short notice. Recently, the Berlin auto parts retailer even flirted with a second attempt, but left it open as to when that might happen. “We don’t feel any pressure,” explained CFO Lennart Schmidt in the interview
. Now the online retailer is taking a different approach and is opening up to the participation of an external shareholder for the first time.
The US financial investor Apollo is acquiring a minority stake together with other investors, Autodoc announced on Wednesday. This increases the valuation of the platform, which was founded in 2008, to 2.3 billion euros. As part of the transaction, two Apollo representatives will join the company’s board of directors.
Until now, the founders Alexej Erdle (44), Vitalij Kungel (38) and Max Wegner (37) had never raised venture capital for their online shop – and yet they had achieved remarkable growth: According to the information, Autodoc generated sales of last year of 1.3 billion euros and an operating profit (Ebitda) of 130 million euros. That is around 30 percent more than in 2022.
Idea of an IPO not ticked off
Autodoc has not lost sight of the idea of an IPO. “We are preparing for this step by step and Apollo’s very intensive checks before they become involved with us are helping,” said CFO Schmidt to the “FAZ
“.
Around 7.4 million customers across Europe order parts from Autodoc – so far mostly private mechanics, but increasingly more and more workshops. Thanks to the fresh money, the parts retailer now wants to expand more in the B2B sector. “We are growing in our core business and at the same time opening up new opportunities. We are highly profitable, generate positive cash flow and are debt-free,” says CFO Schmidt. The board still includes CEO Dmitry Zadorozhny.
Experts estimate the auto parts market in Europe at 200 billion euros. Online platforms such as Autodoc have so far only accounted for 10 percent of this. The company sees itself as the market leader in Europe and intends to expand its position with the fresh money.
The founders sit on the supervisory board as the controlling shareholders. The committee will now be increased to a total of seven members with the addition of Jeremy Honeth, Partner at Apollo Hybrid Value, and Manfred Puffer, Senior Advisor at Apollo. According to its own information, Autodoc employs around 5,000 people in ten different countries. The online retailer carries 5.8 million products for a total of 172 car, 23 truck and 154 motorcycle brands. Since November 2022, the company has been operating as a European stock corporation under “Autodoc SE”.