[UPDATED] Zalando stock jumps 12.1% in German IPO debut

In what may be one of the biggest weeks for German startups in a decade, Berlin-based Zalando saw its stock rise 12.1% Wednesday in a closely-watched IPO.

The e-commerce company had priced its stock at €21.50 ($27.14) on Monday, giving it a potential value of €5.3 billion ($6.8 billion). When the stock started trading Wednesday, it opened at €24.10 ($30.42).

That values the company at €5.94 billion ($7.5 billion). The company raised €526 million ($668 million).

[UPDATE: After a fast start to trading, Zalando’s stock fell back to €21.76 and seemed to be struggling to stay above the €21.50 mark. Will continue to update.]

[UPDATE: Zalando’s stock closed at €21.50, leading some to declare it a “dud” and others a “disappointment.”]

Zalando, a Zappos-style shopping site, was created by the German incubator company Rocket Internet. Rocket, also based in Berlin, has scheduled its IPO for Thursday.

Rocket has been criticized abroad for its business model that focuses on replicating businesses of other e-commerce companies such at Groupon and Zappos. But its strategy has been a success in Europe, and has made its founders, the Samwer brothers (Oliver and Marc and Alexander), billionaires and superstars of the continent’s startup scene.

While German’s are still giddy over this big week, Tele Columbus, a German cable company, said Wednesday it is planning an IPO to raise €300 million ($378.72 million).

Above: Rocket Internet’s Oliver Samwer