H-farm shares jump as set to exceed 2024 goals on Depop sale proceeds

ROME (Reuters) - Shares in Italy's H-Farm rose as much as 17% on Wednesday after the venture capital firm said it would exceed the targets it set in its plan to 2024 thanks to proceeds it will receive from Etsy's purchase of fashion app Depop.

Online platform Etsy bought the privately-owned London-based fashion resale company for $1.63 billion on Wednesday, seeking to attract younger shoppers and strengthen its position in a booming vintage and used clothing market.

Depop was founded in 2011 by entrepreneur Simon Becherman within H-Farm, a tech incubator and start-up centre. It now has more than 26 million users in almost 150 countries.

H-farm said that under an earn-out clause it would receive 6 million euros, surpassing well in advance its target of 1 million euros per year in startup exit proceeds set out in its 2020-2024 plan.

H-farm exited Depop's capital in 2019 after a first partial sale of shares a year earlier. The transaction created returns equal to six times the group's initial investment, with a capital gain of 3.8 million euros, H-farm said at the time.

H-Farm shares were up 14% by 1317 GMT, after earlier rising more than 17% to levels last seen in late January. The jump compares with a flat Milan All-Share index.

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti; editing by Agnieszka Flak)