Rocket Internet accused of marking down start-up stakes to ease buyouts
Shareholder’s claims of impairments put billionaire investor Oliver Samwer’s stewardship back in the spotlight
Rocket Internet has been accused of marking down the valuations of start-up investments in order to buy out its own backers at “bargain prices”.
The European tech investment firm run by billionaire Oliver Samwer has been challenged by a minority shareholder over what it says are “overly conservative” valuations for holdings in booming start-ups such as SpaceX, Kalshi and Canva.
Cologne-based Scherzer & Co argues Rocket’s 2024 financial statements were influenced by “questionable” impairments, according to a letter seen by the Financial Times and sent to Rocket’s leadership and auditor EY. After booking the writedowns, Samwer’s investment firm reported a net loss of more than €550mn in 2024.
Scherzer said in its letter: “We cannot escape the suspicion that you had a particular interest in presenting the company as poorly as possible and concealing its true value . . . in order to repurchase shares at bargain prices.”
The allegations are the latest controversy to hit Rocket, which has previously been criticised by investors for a lack of transparency since delisting in 2020.
Samwer has since taken a stronger grip, buying out activist investor Elliott Management in 2021. He currently owns more than 80 per cent of the business.
After Samwer founded the firm with his brothers almost two decades ago, Rocket has become one of Europe’s most prominent tech investors, backing groups such as Germany’s Zalando and Delivery Hero.
In the letter sent earlier this month, Scherzer states that Rocket marked down its 5.1 per cent stake in US prediction market operator Kalshi from €4.4mn to €400,000.
Kalshi has gone on to raise money at far higher valuations, with Scherzer estimating that Rocket’s holdings should now be worth roughly €370mn.
Scherzer also accuses Rocket of taking significant impairments in 2024 to its stakes in payments group SumUp and design software group Canva, arguing that subsequent valuation increases at those start-ups mean Rocket’s holdings should have increased by tens of millions of euros.
Scherzer’s estimates of the fair value of Rocket’s stakes in Kalshi, SumUp and Canva should have increased by about €870mn combined, or €10.50 per share.
Rocket’s stock on the Hamburg stock exchange — where a small number of its shares still trade — is worth €18.10 at a market capitalisation of €1.47bn.
The Cologne-based shareholder also highlighted Rocket’s 11.9 per cent stake in Gigafund 0.14, an investment vehicle that has holdings in SpaceX.
Rocket valued this position at €65mn. Scherzer said this figure is only modestly above the amount Rocket paid for its position in Gigafund, despite dramatic growth in SpaceX’s private-market valuation.
Scherzer, which owns a 0.6 per cent stake in Rocket, also suggests Samwer’s firm has roughly €1.38bn in free reserves that could be used to launch a buyback programme.
As a result, Scherzer has urged EY to scrutinise Rocket’s upcoming accounts closely and reminded Rocket’s supervisory board of its duty to all shareholders.
In 2023, the FT revealed that Samwer’s investment vehicle Global Founders had secured a structure enabling him to receive a €260mn annual dividend through increased control over Rocket’s venture capital assets.
Rocket and Samwer did not respond to requests for comment. EY declined to comment.