The investor deck for Bukalapak’s $1.5b IPO

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PSA: In case you missed it last week, we launched another newsletter series called The Checkout. Care to make a guess at what it’s all about?

If the Stripe Checkout feature comes to mind, you’re almost there. The Checkout is actually a free newsletter focused entirely on ecommerce. Sent every Thursday morning, it breaks down the biggest stories and trends from this industry.

You can find the first issue here, where we take a deep dive into ultrafast fashion business Shein. The next one is going to be lit, be sure to check it out this Thursday.

Today we look at,

• Bukalapak’s financial numbers as it prepares for an initial public offering
• A South Korean grocery startup that bagged US$200 million
• Other newsy highlights such as why China’s regulators are planning to block Tencent’s blockbuster gaming merger and how Didi Chuxing get into trouble again

PREMIUM SUMMARY

Bukalapak is going public, so we peeked at its confidential investor deck

There’s a solid chance this is not the first IPO news you’ve read today. But this one is significant: Ecommerce player Bukalapak is going public on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) next month. Bukalapak is the first among the country’s unicorns to go public, and this listing could become the largest in Indonesia. The company recently released its investor deck, and we found some really interesting nuggets of information:

• 26% increase in Bukalapak’s top-line growth last year. This is roughly on par with Lazada’s growth, but it’s lower than Shopee’s, which jumped by 160% last year.

• Operating expenses were 2.3x of revenue last year. Selling and marketing expenses have fallen to their lowest level in three years.

• Multibillion dollar valuation: Other ecommerce companies such as Sea, GoTo, and Alibaba had a mean valuation of 20.5x revenue in 2020. Following this same calculation, Bukalapak would have a valuation of around US$2 billion. However, it has been reported that the company is targeting a US$6 billion valuation thanks to “strong investor demand.”

Raising funds to bring groceries to your doorstep