German e-commerce investor Rocket Internet's push into the takeaway delivery business was a big contributor to a 77% rise in its loan portfolio value since its initial public offering in October.
The Berlin-based tech start-up investment company, viewed as a launch pad for future stock market listings of everything from online fashion to home furnishings to food delivery, said the loan portfolio value of its top dozen investments rose by two billion euros ($2.22 billion U.S.) from 2.6 billion euros at the time of its October stock market listing.
Much of the increase in the value of what Rocket calls its "proven winners," came from investments in food delivery, such as Foodpanda, which has been on an buying spree across Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. It also includes stakes in various online fashion and general merchandise e-commerce sites.
Delivery Hero, in which Rocket holds a 39% stake, said earlier it had agreed to buy Turkey's largest online food takeaway company, Yemeksepeti, in a deal valued at $589 million U.S. It also acquired Greece's top takeaway delivery company, e-Food, Rocket said, without giving financial details.
Rocket's Global Takeaway Delivery holding group has operations in 71 countries and generates one billion euros in gross merchandise volume, the company's chief executive said.
