VC-backed Japanese e-commerce player files for IPO
Base, a Japanese e-commerce services platform that helps small-scale vendors establish online shops, has filed for an IPO in Tokyo. It will facilitate partial exits for multiple venture capital investors.
The company plans to raise approximately JPY13.1 billion ($122 million) by selling eight million shares at JPY1,630 apiece, according to a filing. The offering will comprise 405,000 new shares – the proceeds have been earmarked for marketing and business expansion – with the rest to be sold by existing investors. CyberAgent, SBI Ventures, Global Brain, East Ventures and SMBC Venture Capital stand to take around JPY8.3 billion off the table.
Founded in 2012 by Yuta Tsuruoka, Base’s core business is an end-to-end e-commerce services offering, including payment functions, stylish design templates, and transaction analysis tools, for users that cannot establish online shops on their own. There is also a range of complementary services, such as financing for people who want to launch shops, an e-commerce app, and an online payments platform.
Base does not charge upfront or monthly fees to shop owners, rather taking a percentage of each sale – a 3.6% plus JPY40 settlement fee and a 3% service fee – once the vendor starts making money. It claims that 98% of shops are operated by teams of no more than four, while 73% of shop owners are individuals and 27% are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
As of August 2019, there were more than 800,000 Base stores, twice the year-end 2017 total. For the second quarter of 2019, aggregate store turnover was JPY10.5 billion. In addition, the company had 2.5 million registered accounts in its payments system, with transaction volume for the second quarter reaching JPY6.2 billion.
Base posted JPY1.98 billion in revenue for the 12 months ended December 2018, up from JPY1.15 billion a year earlier. Over the same period, its net loss narrowed from JPY1.27 billion to JPY854.8 million.
Tsuruoka has the largest stake in the business with 21.1%. He is followed by Global Brain on 17.02%, SBI Ventures on 9.6%, CyberAgent on 8.74%, e-commerce player Mercari on 6.02%, and East on 5.52%. No other investor holds more than 5%. According to AVCJ Research’s records, East backed Base’s seed round in early 2013. Over the next five years, the company raised JPY3.5 billion across four rounds, most recently a JPY1.5 billion commitment from Global Brain and Money Forward in early 2018.
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