Today, Molten announced that ZOZO, which operates the leading fashion e-commerce platform in Japan, has acquired portfolio company Lyst, a leading global fashion shopping platform.
Molten first invested in Lyst’s Series A in 2012, with follow-on investments in 2014, 2015 and 2021 during its Series B, C and E funding rounds. Lyst has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by ZOZO, Inc. for $154 million. The transaction is expected to complete before the end of April 2025, delivering expected proceeds of c.£9 million to Molten, 7% above the last reported Net Asset Value (NAV).
-
In addition, the previously announced sale of Freetrade completed in the new financial year on 1 April 2025 following regulatory approval. The closing of these two transactions ensures Molten starts FY26 with good momentum and a combined c.£30 million of realisation proceeds from exits above the latest reported NAV in both Lyst and Freetrade.
Total realisation proceeds for FY25 equated to c.£135 million (excluding Freetrade as the proceeds were received in FY26). These realisations were delivered at an average Multiple on Invested Capital of 1.8x, inclusive of exits from M-Files, Endomag, Perkbox, Graphcore and a partial realisation of Revolut, the latter of which generated proceeds of c.£7 million as part of a company-led secondary transaction at a headline valuation of $45 billion, 25% above the last reported NAV.
The strong level of realisations, comfortably exceeding the original guidance provided of £100 million, has enabled the Group to complete a £15 million buyback in FY25 and to extend that programme by a further £15 million, significantly exceeding the initial guidance of a minimum of 10% of realisation proceeds being allocated toward share buybacks.
The Group will continue to review capital allocation, balancing the pipeline of new investment opportunities with the ability to drive returns to shareholders through share buyback programmes, while maintaining sufficient reserves.
Molten will release its full year trading update for the 12 months ended 31 March 2025 (FY25) on 24 April 2025, which will include an updated Gross Portfolio Value (unaudited) and commentary on recent portfolio developments.
Ben Wilkinson, CEO of Molten, commented:
"We have a strong portfolio of assets and we actively manage the growth of our portfolio alongside a robust realisation process. Turning investment value to cash at the right time demonstrates our diligent portfolio management and aligns with our strategy of preserving a strong balance sheet while providing liquidity.
We’ve worked closely with the team at Lyst since 2012, helping the company evolve into a leader in fashion technology. Along with the completion of the Freetrade exit this marks a strong start to realisations in FY26, building on the positive momentum of exits at or above NAV in FY25.”
Read the full RNS here.