US-based real estate platform developer Compass filed yesterday to raise up to $500m in an initial public offering that will provide exits for corporates SoftBank and Advance Publications.
Compass runs an online real estate brokerage that offers customer relationship management and marketing services to customers. It increased revenue 56% year on year to $3.72bn in 2020 while cutting its net loss from $388m to $270m.
The offering will follow about $1.5bn in funding for the company, which closed its series G round at $344m in January 2020 according to the IPO filing, which stated telecommunications and internet group SoftBank’s Vision Fund provided $250m. The round reportedly valued it at $6.4bn.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Dragoneer Investment Group also took part in the 2020 round. It followed a $400m series F in 2018 co-led by Vision Fund and Qatar Investment Authority the year before that included financial services and investment group Fidelity, Discovery Capital Management, Wellington Management and IVP at a $4.4bn post-money valuation.
SoftBank had invested $450m in the company in 2017 at a reported $2.2bn valuation, shortly after Fidelity, IVP and Wellington Management had provided $100m in series E funding.
Wellington Management and IVP had joined Thrive Capital, Founders Fund and .406 Ventures in a $75m round for Compass in 2016, The last four had backed a $60m round the year before alongside media group Advance Publications, Kenneth Chenault and Marc Benioff.
Vision Fund is the company’s largest shareholder, with a 34.8% stake, followed by Discovery Capital Management (9.2%) and company co-founder Ori Allon (5.2%).
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Barclays Capital are the underwriters for the offering, which will take place on the New York Stock Exchange.
