Language app Babbel announces plans to go public this year

Earlier in March, sources familiar with the matter said that Germany-based popular language learning app Babbel was targeting a $1 billion Frankfurt IPO. Rumors turned out to be true and the company announced on Tuesday that it would list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange this year to raise over €180 million (214 million). 

The company said BNP Paribas and Morgan Stanley are acting as Joint Global Coordinators and Joint Bookrunners for the listing while Berenberg and Citigroup are acting as further Joint Bookrunners.

Founded in 2007 by Markus Witte and Thomas Holl, Babbel has sold over 10 million premium subscriptions so far. The app offers more than 60,000 lessons across 15 languages including Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, English and more. 

Also Read: The 8 Best Language Learning Apps

Babbel reported a revenue of €147 million in 2020. Sources said that the listing could see the company’s valuation at €1-2 billion. 

The company said that it would use the proceeds to improve its product, introduce new experiences, expand into new markets and to settle certain claims under existing employee incentive schemes.

“Taking Babbel public is the logical next step for us to leverage our full potential as the first ever German EdTech IPO. After establishing our self-study app, we are now focusing on further expanding our multi-product ecosystem,’’ said Babbel CEO Arne Schepker. ‘’This is right in line with our mission: to create mutual understanding through languages. Knowing that successful learners rely on various experiences, from podcasts and videos to apps, to effectively learn a language, we will provide these experiences and do so with expert guidance. This is designed to help language learners achieve their objectives, which in many cases profoundly enriches their lives.”