AAA Lyft accelerates towards $2.1bn IPO target

Lyft accelerates towards $2.1bn IPO target

Lyft, a US-based on-demand ride platform backed by several corporate investors, today set the terms for an initial public offering that would raise almost $2.1bn if it floats at the top of its range.

The IPO will involve almost 30.8 million shares issued on the Nasdaq Global Select Market priced at $62 to $68 each, meaning the company would raise just over $1.9bn in funding if it floats at the foot of its range.

The company will from today meet potential investors with a view to pricing its shares and floating later this month, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The offering is expected to value the company at $22.9bn, at the top of its range.

Lyft’s ride hailing platform hosted 30.7 million riders in the US and Canada in 2018 and was responsible for roughly $8.1bn in bookings. It doubled revenue to approximately $2.16bn in 2018, though its net loss increased from $688m to $911m over the same period.

Between $482m and $528m of the proceeds will be used to settle restricted stock units for Lyft’s employees. Should the 29 underwriters take up the over-allotment option the size of the offering could potentially increase to more than $2.4bn.

The company has raised about $4.4bn in equity funding in total, most recently pulling in $600m from financial services and investment group Fidelity Management and Research (FMR) and Senator Investment Group in June 2018 at a $15.1bn post-money valuation.

Automotive components manufacturer Magna International had invested $200m in Lyft in March 2018 at a reported $11.7bn valuation, the same valuation at which it closed a $1.5bn round led by internet technology conglomerate Alphabet’s Capital G unit in December 2017.

The 2017 round also featured e-commerce group Rakuten, FMR subsidiary Fidelity Investments, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, AllianceBernstein, Baillie Gifford, KKR and Janus Henderson.

Lyft’s earlier investors include carmakers General Motors (GM) and Jaguar Land Rover, e-commerce firm Alibaba, ride hailing service Didi Chuxing, holding company Icahn Enterprises, Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue Management, Founders Fund, Mayfield Fund, Kingdom Holding, AllianceBernstein, PSP Investments, Janus Capital Management and Third Point Ventures.

Co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer own all of the company’s 12.8 million Class B shares and none of its 240 million Class A shares. Rakuten owns the most Class A shares, 13.1%, which is set to fall to 11.6% post-offering.

The other prominent class A shareholders are GM (6.9% post-offering), Fidelity (6.8%), Andreessen Horowitz (5.5%) and Alphabet (4.7%).

The underwriters for the IPO include JP Morgan Securities, Credit Suisse Securities (USA), Jefferies, UBS Securities, Stifel Nicolaus, RBC Capital Markets, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Cowen and Company, Raymond James & Associates, Canaccord Genuity, Evercore Group, Piper Jaffray, Mischler Financial Group and Tigress Financial Partners.

JMP Securities, Wells Fargo Securities, KKR Capital Markets, Academy Securities, Blaylock Van, Penserra Securities, Siebert Cisneros Shank, Williams Capital Group, CastleOak Securities, CL King & Associates, Drexel Hamilton, Great Pacific Securities, Samuel A. Ramirez & Company, R. Seelaus and Loop Capital Markets are also among the underwriters.

By Robert Lavine

Robert Lavine is special features editor for Global Venturing.

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