Lyft Inc was valued at $24.3 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) of a ride-hailing startup on Thursday. Lyft said it priced 32.5 million shares, slightly more that it was originally offering, at $72 per share of its target range of $70-$72 per share. Lyft started its IPO investor road show earlier in March with a target range of $62-$68 per share. The stock is set to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “LYFT”.
Lyft’s valuation makes it the biggest company to go public since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in 2014. The IPO sets the stage for the stock market debut of larger rival Uber Technologies Inc, which is expected to kick off in April. Uber could have a valuation of up to $120 billion, one of the largest IPOs in history. Other Silicon Valley companies who are anticipating to debut their shares this year also include Pinterest Inc, Slack Technologies Inc, and Postmates Inc.
“With what we’re seeing with the excitement and feedback from the investment community, this IPO market could end up being historic,” said Barrett Daniels, national IPO services leader at Deloitte & Touche. Investors’ appetites are strong for these “decacorns,” or companies with valuations larger than $10 billion, Daniels said.
Sources:
Reuters
Fortune