Ride-hailing giant Lyft seeks valuation of nearly US$20 billion in year’s biggest IPO
- No 2 US ride-hailing giant is offering 30.8 million shares at US$62 to US$68 each
- Lyft will continue to be controlled by co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer, who will be issued Class B shares
Lyft is seeking to raise as much as US$2.1 billion in its initial public offering, valuing the firm at almost $20 billion.
The No 2 US ride-hailing giant is offering 30.8 million shares at US$62 to US$68 each, it said in a regulatory filing on Monday. At the top of that range and including a potential overallotment of shares to investors, the market valuation would reach US$19.6 billion, based on the total numbers of shares outstanding after the IPO as detailed in the filing.
At the targeted range, the San Francisco-based company’s offering will be the biggest from a tech upstart since Snap went public two years ago, and the largest in the US so far this year after the partial US government shutdown put a damper on first-quarter listings.
Including the money Lyft is expecting to raise from the IPO, as well as some likely dilution of shares, the total valuation of the company could be US$21 billion to US$23 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. Lyft had earlier been aiming for a valuation of US$20 billion to US$25 billion.
The filing with the US Securities & Exchange Commission puts Lyft further ahead in its race to go public with Uber Technologies, the world’s biggest ride-hailing company.
Uber has filed confidentially with the SEC and intends to make its listing plans public in April, according to people familiar with the matter. Smaller start-ups including Postmates and Slack Technologies are also considering listings.