Catawiki in a €150 million growth funding round backed by Permira and Accel.

Catawiki, an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based operator of a digital marketplace for collectibles, announced entering into an agreement for getting the private equity investor Permira as major shareholder in the company.

The deal, which has a secondary component for cashing out early investors and employees, was made for €150 million ($181M) in a transaction that values the Catawiki at €500 million. Existing investor Accel was also contributor in the round.

Catawiki, founded in 2008 by Marco Jansen and René Schoenmakers and led by CEO Ravi Vora, operates a curated online auction site targeting wealthy consumers with high-end collectibles from classic cars to art and movie memorabilia, in its latest bet on luxury. The company is losing money, reportedly having a 2019 an ebitda loss of €4.6 million at revenues of €56.4 million. The site has 10m unique monthly visitors and auctions 65,000 objects a week, and makes money by charging both buyers and sellers a commission on the transaction.