[Funding alert] Global Blue Secures $100M Strategic Equity Investment from Tencent

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Tencent has agreed to invest $100 million in Global Blue common equity at a price of $5.50 per share, which is generally in line with the volume-weighted average price over the past 3 months. At closing, Tencent will own 18.18 million common shares, representing approximately 8% of the total fully-diluted share capital.

Jacques Stern CEO, Global Blue said, " We are pleased to welcome Tencent as a shareholder as we continue to diversify our ownership base. We have achieved robust revenue growth and margin improvement in recent quarters, thanks to the ongoing international travel recovery and our investments in digitalization and new products, as well as cost management. Today’s investment validates our strategy and confidence in the ongoing travel recovery. We believe Global Blue is well-positioned to continue to benefit from the return of Asian shoppers in FY24/25 towards 2019 levels, in particular Mainland Chinese, supporting our Adjusted EBITDA guidance of more than €200m in FY24/25."

James Mitchell Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Executive Vice President, Tencent said, "We have closely followed Global Blue’s digital evolution for several years, during which the management team has enhanced the company’s technology capabilities and service offering, extending its shopper and merchant reach. We are pleased to make a strategic investment in Global Blue to help support its future growth and look forward to continued growth in cross-border travel and shopping, including travel from China."

ABOUT GLOBAL BLUE

Global Blue pioneered the concept of Tax Free Shopping 40 years ago. Through continuous innovation, they have become the leading strategic technology and payments partner, empowering retailers to improve their performance and shoppers to enhance their experience.

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