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As the U.K. began negotiating its so-called Brexit from the European Union on Monday, Germany’s startup ecosystem is getting a major nod in the form of one of the year’s most anticipated IPOs, Delivery Hero.
The Berlin-based food delivery service with operations in more than 40 countries, announced plans for a public listing on the Frankfurt stock exchange. The company says it aims to raise roughly 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in the IPO, which would give it a valuation of 4.4 billion euros ($4.9 billion). Large though that figure may seem, analysts say it’s within investor expectations: Delivery Hero, which brokers deliveries from a network of restaurants, or brings the food to customers homes via courier, was most recently valued at between 3.5 billion euros ($3.9 billion) and 4 billion euros ($4.1 billion), when it raised funding from Naspers, a South African e-commerce company. It works with around 150,000 restaurants today, and counts more than 6,000 employees globally, as it competes with local players such as Takeaway.com, based in the Netherlands, as well as giants like Amazon and Uber.
Of course, Berlin has long attracted artists and technologists from around the world. It’s lost favor as a startup hub, though, since it hasn’t counted many large exits. When Delivery Hero lists its shares–for around 22 to 25 euros (or ($24.50 to $27.80) apiece–at the end of the month, that perception is likely to change.
Already, many E.U. entrepreneurs have told Inc. that they consider Berlin to be the zone’s next business capital, once London breaks from the European Union–and the single market trade zone it currently enjoys. In…