Successful debut on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange: First listing of Social Chain shares in the Prime Standard

12.11.2021

  • First official share price of 54.00 EUR

  • Social Chain shares now attractive for new investor groups

  • Wanja S. Oberhof: "The listing of Social Chain AG in the premium segment of the leading German stock exchange is based on our growth and innovative business model – a groundbreaking step for our company and our shareholders.”

Berlin, Frankfurt 12 November 2021. Social Chain AG (WKN: A1YC99, ISIN DE000A1YC996) is listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as of today. The first price of the share was EUR 54.00. With the listing in the premium segment of the German leading stock exchange, Social Chain AG has laid the foundation for its further expansion in the future market of Social Commerce. Social Commerce has a major role to play in the product and brand world of the future through the deep integration of social media and e-commerce. The core of the business model is the development and direct marketing of products, inspired and promoted via social media. Social Chain AG is currently operating in 26 European markets and in the USA. The portfolio includes 15 leading brands and a total of 3,000 products available in the areas of Food, Home & Living, Beauty & Health. The social media communities of Social Chain AG have over 86 million followers worldwide. External customers such as Apple, Coca Cola, Zalando and Nike also use Social Chain AG's social media marketing expertise.

Wanja S. Oberhof, CEO of Social Chain AG: "The initial listing in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is more than just a milestone. The listing of Social Chain AG in the premium segment of the leading German stock exchange is based on our growth and innovative business model – a groundbreaking step for our company and our shareholders. In addition, Social Chain shares will also be attractive to completely new groups of investors. It gives us further entrepreneurial flexibility for our buy & build strategy. Future investment priorities focus on further expansion of our internationally scalable Social Commerce platform, the acquisition of young brands and Social Commerce-savvy products."

Only recently, Social Chain AG announced the acquisition of DS Group, an international brand and trading company with over 4,000 products and 700 brands, registered designs, patents and utility patents. After completion of the transaction, Social Chain AG expects total revenue of over EUR 620m (proforma consolidated) in the 2021 financial year. Based on the integration of DS Group, Social Chain AG expects considerable growth: already for the financial year 2023, revenue of more than one billion EUR is being targeted (see also media release of 19 October 2021). The newly formed company employs 1,400 people and has a total of 18 global locations, including Berlin, the Hamburg metropolitan region, Munich, London, Manchester, New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong.

Christian Senitz, Social Chain AG's CFO: "The listing in the Prime Standard is good news for all Social Chain AG shareholders. It reflects the entrepreneurial development of the last few years and, above all, our strategic look ahead. The listing in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange facilitates our access to the international capital market. For many institutional investors, belonging to this premium segment is a basic requirement for an investment. I am proud that, with a powerful team, we have made Social Chain AG fit for Europe's highest level a listed company can reach within only six months. My thanks to all external advisors who have assisted us along the way. With IFRS accounting, optimized reporting and new management tools, we have created the best conditions for managing our strong growth and communicating it transparently. IFRS conversion, uplisting and strategically important acquisitions – we have achieved our ambitious goals for 2021.”

Free float of the Social Chain share is already over 25 percent today and is expected to increase further

Yesterday, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) approved the securities prospectus of The Social Chain AG (WKN: A1YC99, ISIN:DE000A1YC996, Ticker: PU11) for the admission of all its shares to trading on the regulated market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard). Until now, Social Chain AG had only been listed on the open market of the Düsseldorf Stock Exchange. Based on the 11,492,043 shares currently authorized for trading and including today's opening price of EUR 54.00, the current market capitalization is EUR 620.6m. After completion of the takeover of the DS Group, the number of issued Social Chain AG shares will increase to 14,347,043 million as a result of a capital increase through contributions in kind. On this basis, today's first share price would result in a market capitalization of EUR 774.4m. The free float of the share is already over 25 percent and is expected to grow further.

Ralf Dümmel, designated Chief Product Officer of Social Chain AG and Managing Partner of DS Group: "For DS Group, the listing of Social Chain AG in the Prime Standard is almost like its own IPO. DS will be an important part of Social Chain’s story in the future. Access to the international capital market was an important argument for us in selling DS Group to Social Chain. This is the basis for our joint global expansion strategy. Our goal is to develop brands such as the barbecue manufacturer LANDMANN also into an attractive direct-to-consumer brand – with a clear social-first strategy. In addition, we are jointly building a multi-channel distribution system that sets standards in Social Commerce: Of course, our range of products will be available online in our own web and social media shops in the future. In addition, many products and brands of Social Chain AG will also be available in retail stores. For this purpose, we will use the Europe-wide network of the current DS Group with access to more than 40,000 retail outlets. The integrated dual online/offline strategy corresponds to the buying behavior of many consumers and strengthens the flexibility of Social Chain AG to react quickly to changes in consumer behavior."

Dr. Georg Kofler: "Good conditions for a successful stock market story of Social Chain AG".

For Dr Georg Kofler, the listing of Social Chain AG in the Prime Standard is his third major stock market debut after the IPOs of ProSieben and Premiere (now Sky), which he led to stock market success as CEO and investor. "The general conditions for a successful Social Chain AG stock market story are excellent. We operate as an innovation leader in an international growth market. Social Chain is growing rapidly and sustainably. The combination of social media expertise, own communities with a reach of millions, a scalable marketing platform and an attractive product range has fascinated me from the very beginning. This is an opportunity that marketers and product developers could only dream of until recently. Social Chain AG is playing a decisive role in turning this vision into reality.”

Kofler also sees the general conditions on the capital market as positive: "Never before has the role of the stock market as a source of investments for growth and sustainable investment been as important as it is today. The stock market is receptive to young companies without a history going back decades that are developing rapidly: intellectually, creatively, in terms of organization and, of course, in terms of revenue and earnings. I think Social Chain AG is a good example in this context. A good two years after the founding of today's Social Chain AG, we have matured from a start-up to an S-DAX candidate."

Georg Kofler, like Ralf Dümmel, is an investor on the VOX TV start-up show "Die Höhle der Löwen" (Germany’s equivalent to “Dragons’ Den” in the UK). Kofler also understand going public as a statement for committed entrepreneurship: " The political world is currently intensively debating about the future, progress, innovation. This is a positive sentiment. What is being argued about is how all this is to be financed. I don't think much of state funds for the future. We need a framework in which young entrepreneurs with a good business idea can get the necessary funds quickly and with a minimum of bureaucracy. Either directly through the stock exchange or indirectly via an entrepreneurial partner like Social Chain. This has another positive side effect: a listing in a premium segment like the Prime Standard is a fitness programme for every company and its subsidiaries. For young entrepreneurs in particular, it is a valuable experience to have to answer questions on a regular basis from the capital market. This promotes discipline in everyday entrepreneurial life.“

A recording of the live broadcast from today's stock exchange debut can be found here.
From 9:45 a.m. onwards, we will provide you with pictures and video material here on an ongoing basis here.

Contact:

Dirk Heerdegen | Head of Corporate Marketing & Communications Social Chain AG

Jana Walker | Senior Corporate & Brand PR Manager Social Chain AG

E: press@socialchain.com | T: +49 30 208 48 40 10

Sanja Stankovic | Head of Corporate Communications DS Gruppe

E: presse@dspro.de | T: + 49 40 67573 2946

The Social Chain AG: Social Commerce on a global scale

Social Chain AG is reshaping the world of brands and commerce with Social Commerce. Our strategy and our actions are "Digital first – direct to customer": from branding to marketing to direct sales of our products in the categories Food, Home & Living, Beauty, and Fitness. Our online shops are the most efficient points of sale for our Direct-to-Consumer brands. More than 70 percent of Direct-to-Consumer sales are performed by our owned and operated online shops. Our communities, with over 86 million followers worldwide, inspire our customers and amplify our brand messages. We manage the expansion of our Social Commerce system of communities, brands, digital points of sale and logistics via our integrated proprietary technology platform: LINKS which analyses interests, purchase intentions and product satisfaction along the entire digital customer journey.
Social Chain AG‘s headquarters are in Berlin, with additional locations in Munich, London, Manchester, New York and Los Angeles. Social Chain AG shares (WKN: A1YC99) have so far been traded on XETRA and other German stock exchanges. As of 12 November 2021, the shares of Social Chain AG will be listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

www.socialchain.com

About DS Gruppe (more about the acquisition of DS Group by Social Chain AG can be found here in the media release from 19 October 2021)

DS Group, based just outside Hamburg, can now look back on more than 48 successful years. As an internationally operating brand and trading company, it now employs 550 people and has revenues of over EUR 270m (forecast). DS Group specializes in the production, import and distribution of innovative products in the consumer goods sector. As one of Europe's largest developers and suppliers of non-food articles, the group supplies over 4,000 products to food retailers, discounters, drugstores, teleshopping, DIY shops, self-service stores, furniture shops, cash & carry, specialist retailers, department stores, mail order companies, home shopping and online marketplaces. Thanks to the company's headquarters near Hamburg, as well as three other German locations in the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein and Hesse, as well as eight international locations in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Great Britain, Hungary and Poland, DS Group covers the entire value chain around the product world. DS Group is a dynamic and experienced partner in the identification, development and realization of innovative products, as well as the clever and high-turnover placement of diverse products in multichannel distribution.

The managing partner of DS Group, Ralf Dümmel – also known as a multi-deal investor in the VOX TV show "Die Höhle der Löwen" (German version of the UK's "Dragons' Den" and "Shark Tank" in the US) has helped around 122 startups place more than 300 products in the national and international retail market. With its own brands, such as the oldest German barbecue manufacturer LANDMANN and numerous other brands, DS Group is one of Europe's largest trade suppliers.

www.dspro.de

The content of this press release is for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or other recommendations pursuant to the German Securities Trading Act by The Social Chain AG or its affiliated companies. The information provided cannot replace investment advice. The information contained in this press release is not to be construed as an assurance of possible price developments and should not be construed as a request to enter into a transaction. The information contained herein does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell securities or rights, or a solicitation to trade in securities or rights. Accordingly, The Social Chain AG and its affiliates make no representations or commitments as to the accuracy, completeness or correctness of the information or opinions contained herein. We assume no liability for direct or indirect damages caused by and/or in connection with the distribution and/or use of this document. The statements correspond to the status at the time of the preparation of this document. They may become obsolete due to future developments without the document being changed