France's Aramis Group exploring IPO in Paris this year

Though the firm did not provide financial details for the purchase, it said in a statement it would push Aramis' annual sales to $1.2 billion

France's Aramis Group, which specialises in selling second-hand cars online, said on Monday it was exploring an initial public offering (IPO) in Paris this year following a boom in the sale of used vehicles and as it looks to expand its presence across Europe.

The firm also announced that it was entering the United Kingdom market with a majority stake in MotorDepot, which owns the CarSupermarket.com platform. Aramis Group is 70% owned by Stellantis, the carmaker formed by the merger of France's PSA and Italian-American group Fiat Chrysler.

Though the firm did not provide financial details for the purchase, it said in a statement it would push Aramis' annual sales to more than 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion).

The group already operates in Spain and Belgium, and has benefited from surging interest in used cars during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people have shied away from other forms of transport, and relied on their personal modes of transport and vehicles.

Its revenues, excluding some Belgian trading activities it plans to discontinue, were up 16% to 851 million euros in its financial year to September 2020.

Stellantis would remain a majority shareholder following a stock market listing, Aramis said, while two of the group's co-founders would also have stakes.

An IPO would reinforce the group's strategic and financial flexibility to capture the significant growth opportunities ahead and accelerate its development across Europe, the company said.

French cloud computing services provider OVHcloud has also started the process for a potential listing in Paris, a spokeswoman said on Monday, after a slow start to the year for French IPOs.