Koala returns with $400m IPO plans after tariff delay
Furniture retailer Koala has restarted its IPO push, targeting a first-half 2026 ASX listing valued at around $400 million. The move comes after Trump's furniture tariffs derailed its previous attempt in mid-2025.
Transaction snapshot
Deal value: ~$100 million capital raise at ~$400 million valuation
Deal multiples: ~29.6x EV/EBITDA (based on $400m valuation and $13.5m EBITDA)
Deal type: IPO
Investors: To be determined; co-founders Dany Milham and Mitch Taylor each hold 25.4% of the business, with remaining shareholders including Perennial Partners and cricketer Steve Smith
Koala and its bankers sent out meeting invites for a non-deal roadshow starting January 27. The bookbuild could happen as early as March, though final terms depend on investor feedback.
The business has strengthened significantly since its last IPO attempt. Revenue grew 42% to $276 million in the last financial year, while EBITDA surged 280% to $13.5 million. This beat internal forecasts of under $10 million. The company had already exceeded last year's full-year EBITDA by the end of December's half-year, driven by operating leverage and better marketing efficiency.
Koala now operates in four markets: Australia, the US, Japan, and the UK. The UK expansion happened after the previous IPO attempt in May 2025.
The company faces two key investor concerns. First is US tariff exposure. Trump imposed 25% tariffs on upholstered furniture in September 2025, which took effect in October. These were scheduled to increase to 30% on January 1, 2026, but Trump delayed the increase for a year on December 31, 2025. Koala has diversified its supply chain beyond China across South-East Asia to reduce impact. US sales are reportedly growing strongly despite the tariffs.
Second is valuation relative to listed peers. Koala's online-heavy model with a handful of pop-up stores sits between Temple & Webster ($1.59 billion market cap) and Nick Scali ($2.2 billion market cap). When Koala last courted fund managers in May 2025, Temple & Webster was trading near all-time highs. Now Nick Scali has surged 69% over the past 12 months, while Temple & Webster has pulled back.
Koala's IPO joins a crowded retail pipeline including Quadrant's Amart, TPG's Greencross, and Whiteoak's SkinKandy. Dealmakers are pushing to complete transactions before inflation accelerates.
Founder Dany Milham co-founded Koala in 2015 before stepping away to launch fast grocery delivery startup Milkrun. Woolworths acquired Milkrun in 2023 after it collapsed. Milham returned to lead Koala, which has since expanded from mattresses into most home goods categories.
