Showroomprive Seeks $424 Million in Web Retailer’s Paris IPO

PARIS, France — Online retailer Showroomprive is seeking as much as 373 million euros ($424 million) in an initial public offering to expand beyond France amid intensifying competition at home from bigger rivals such as Vente-Privee.com SA to Amazon.com Inc.

Shares will be sold at 19.50 euros to 26.30 euros apiece and the stock will trade on the Paris exchange, Showroomprive, based in a suburb near the French capital, said Monday in a statement. The IPO is set to value the company at as much as 870 million euros, co-Chief Executive Officer Thierry Petit said on a conference call.

French flash-sales sites, which offer goods at a discount for a limited period online, are targeting shoppers in other countries to cope with a crowded market at home. Jacques-Antoine Granjon, the founder of Vente-Privee.com which pioneered online flash sales, said in October he wants to make a bigger push into Europe through acquisitions. Granjon said he wants to keep Vente-Privee private and doesn’t need to raise funds.

Meanwhile, the list of French technology startups that have gone to investors for cash in the past year is growing. Deezer SA, a Spotify Ltd. competitor in music streaming, is seeking at least 300 million euros in an IPO valuing it at as much as 1.1 billion euros, and is due to list by Oct. 30. BlaBlaCar and Sigfox are also raising financing.

Showroomprive said the IPO is set to raise 226 million euros to 298 million euros, or as much as 373 million euros if an overallotment option is exercised in full. Trading is expected to start Oct. 30 and the subscription period ends a day before.

By Marie Mawad; editors: Kenneth Wong, Ville Heiskanen, Celeste Perri.