There has long been speculation about a Grover IPO. The move from Lilium CFO Michael Andersen to the Berlin startup is fueling the rumours.
With Lilium, Michael Andersen made the leap to the US stock exchange as CFO, now he is switching to the Berlin startup Grover. As the provider of rental electronics announced on Monday, Andersen will replace the previous CFO Thomas Antonioli on April 1st. The move has fueled speculation about a possible Grover IPO.
Almost a year ago, the Berlin start-up was valued at one billion dollars for the first time after a round of financing in which around 100 million euros came from the US fund Energy Impact Partners, among others, and thus joined the unicorn club. Even then, an IPO was a possible step.
“I’m not ruling out an IPO in the medium term, but that’s not currently on our list,” said CIO Linda Rubin in April 2022, citing the difficult stock market environment as the reason for this. The Andersen personnel could now be an indication that this option is closer for Grover.
After all, the native Dane was instrumental in bringing the Bavarian aviation startup Lilium to the US Nasdaq via a SPAC in September 2021, and previously worked at the German mechanical engineering company Krones, which is also listed. Grover CEO and founder Michael Cassau praised the “great experience” he gained as CFO and with Lilium’s IPO in the press release on the move from Andersen.
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When asked by Gründerszene, Andersen said he saw similar challenges at Grover as at his previous employer. “I believe that with my many years of experience at GEA and Krones, among others, and the two years at Lilium, I can support the company’s growth agenda,” he said.
“One of my main concerns is to ensure that the finance department is well positioned in a fast-growing company like Grover,” Andersen continues, “and at the same time always keep all options open with regard to corporate financing.” However, he did not confirm any concrete plans for an IPO.
Since it was founded in 2015, Grover has grown rapidly and, according to its own statements, has now collected a financing volume of around 1.4 billion euros. For the rental of more than 5,000 electronic devices such as laptops or cameras, the start-up reported a recurring turnover of 140 million euros at the end of 2021.
In addition to Germany, Grover is also active in Austria, Spain, the Netherlands and the USA and employs more than 400 people. Most recently, however, the company drew attention to itself with a wave of layoffs, in which several dozen employees had to go at the end of 2022. According to Grover, this should make the startup profitable for the first time this year.
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