Private Equity Deal Snapshot

SMG Swiss Marketplace Group: A joint venture goes public

TX Group, Ringier, Mobiliar and General Atlantic built Switzerland's leading online marketplaces in a joint venture formed in 2021. In September 2025 they took it public on SIX. We read the offer and the investment case.

First trading day 19 September 20253 min readPrivate Equity

SMG Swiss Marketplace Group
The one-page editionDownload the SnapshotPDF · A4 · Sep 2025
  • CHF 46IPO price, top of range
  • CHF 4.5bnMarket value at offer price
  • c. CHF 903mPlacement, before over-allotment
  • 0New shares issued

Key takeaways

  1. SMG priced its IPO at CHF 46, the top of the CHF 43 to 46 range, implying a market value of about CHF 4.5 billion.
  2. The offer consisted only of existing shares, about 19.6 million worth around CHF 903 million before the over-allotment option. It was a liquidity event for the owners, not a capital raise.
  3. SIX ranked it among Europe's largest IPOs since 2024. The opening price implied a market value of about CHF 4.7 billion.

The transaction

SellersFounding shareholders
New investorsPublic market

Result SMG on SIX

Key terms
Listed19 September 2025, SIX Swiss Exchange
Offer priceCHF 46, range CHF 43 to 46
Shares offered19,629,040 existing shares
Over-allotmentUp to 2,944,353 existing shares
Placementc. CHF 903 million before over-allotment
Market valuec. CHF 4.5bn at offer; c. CHF 4.74bn at opening
OwnersTX Group, Ringier, Mobiliar, General Atlantic; joint venture since 2021
PlatformsHomegate, ImmoScout24, AutoScout24, Ricardo, tutti.ch, FinanceScout24

Timeline

  1. 2021TX Group, Ringier, Mobiliar and General Atlantic form SMG
  2. Sep 2025Price range CHF 43 to 46 set
  3. 19 Sep 2025Priced at CHF 46; trading opens on SIX

The rationale

Online classifieds are a scale business: the platform with the most listings attracts the most buyers. Combining the owners' real estate, vehicle and general marketplaces in 2021 created the clear market leader in Switzerland.

For the owners, a listing creates a market price and liquidity for stakes that had been locked in a private joint venture, including that of a growth investor, General Atlantic.

Because no new shares were issued, the company's balance sheet was unchanged by the offer.

The assessment

Demand

Pricing at the top of the range and opening above it show that demand exceeded the supply of shares. The opening value was about 5% above the offer value.

Overhang

With only a minority sold, the founding shareholders' remaining stakes are future supply. Lock-up periods and sell-down plans will shape the share price.

Risks

Dependence on the real estate and vehicle markets, competition from international portals and AI-driven search, and governance with several large shareholders.

What to watch

Listing volumes and pricing power, the owners' sell-downs after lock-up, and dividend policy.

Market value (CHF bn)
4.74At opening4.5At offer price

Source: SIX via BME, 19 September 2025; Walder Wyss.

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