The Initial Public Offering (IPO) seems to have entered its most exciting phase. From overcoming a lightning-quick bear market in 2020 to bouncing back to the levels never seen since the dot-com, the IPO market is delivering big time. We saw the Zomato IPO take place earlier then there was Devyani International IPO And with December still left in 2021 and a fresh new year waiting around the corner, the market can expect a host of upcoming IPOs. Before we further delve into the laundry list of the hot upcoming IPOs, let’s revise what IPO means and follow it up with some recent IPO highlights.
What is an Initial Public Offering (IPO)?
Initial Public Offering (IPO) refers to a private corporation listing its shares on a public stock exchange. In simpler words, when a privately owned company lists for IPO, the general public can purchase stocks in it.
2021 IPO Highlights
There were plenty of IPOs highlighted between late 2020 and early 2021. But the most notable one was Bumble (BMBL) in February. The female-led dating application boosted above 60% in its public debut. Another strong debut continued with the online gaming platform Roblox (RBLX), and it witnessed the first-day jump of 54% when it debuted in March. Later in 2021, famous language software company Duolingo (DUOL) continued the trend. It ended up delivering a 36% return as a publicly-traded company in its first session itself. And recently, Rivian Automotive (RIVN) became the largest U.S. IPO since 2014 by raising nearly $12 billion. Also, to know more you can even check the top 5 IPOs with the highest listing gains in 2021.
So, this was all about the blockbuster IPOs that have happened so far. But with the remaining of 2021 and upcoming 2022, the market can expect this mega-trend to continue. Since several private corporations are about to go public, let’s take a look at them one-by-one.
ThoughtSpot
ThoughtSpot is a Relational Search Engine (RSE) that helps users easily explore business intelligence and big data analytics. Ajeet Singh founded it in 2012 after he left his previous company, Nutanix (NTNX), which eventually went public in 2009 and became a billion-dollar firm. Ajeet Singh built ThoughtSpot to support organizations integrating several data sources and developing sophisticated dashboards.
Authentic Brands Group
With the coronavirus pandemic restriction the entire world to their home and neighborhood, the outside world suffered. From restaurants to malls, everything experienced a sharp decline in revenues. However, Authentic Brands Group isn’t one of them. Jamie Salter, who launched his snowboard business in the early 1990s, used his expertise to build the Authentic Brands Group in 2010. He invested $250 million in it alongside receiving the backing of Leonard Green & Partners, a top private equity firm. With the ticker AUTH, the company will list its New York Stock Exchange shares.
The Fresh Market
The Fresh Market is a gourmet grocery chain looking to IPO and become a publicly traded life. In March 2016, when the grocer faced tough competition from Whole Foods, Kroger, Publix, etc., it accepted a buyout. The buyout came from Apollo Global, a private equity firm at $1.36 billion. Since then, the company has stayed focused on restructuring its operation and has 159 locations across 22 states. It enabled the company to enhance its credit outlook to plan to go public.
One of the primary takeaways from its upcoming IPO is that despite its improved credits, the grocer will still suffer from a high level of debt even if it goes public. Furthermore, the IPO is considered more as a way for Apollo to cover its investment alongside some decent returns.
Instacart
Apoorva Menta founded Instacart in 2010 after resigning from his Fulfillment Optimization SDE at Amazon. He did so to start his venture. Unfortunately, I met with several speed bumps despite trying 20 different products. And then came his idea to launch Instacart. Instacart is an on-demand network for delivering groceries products. The pandemic turned into a blessing for his product as it spurred home-based delivery services.
Instacart, powered by a sophisticated logistics system, has built an agreement with 400+ retailers spanning 30,000 stores. It has raised a $200 million round fund from the Valiant Peregrine Fund and D1 Capital Partners. It followed up with a $225 million raise from the DST Global and General Catalyst with the D1 participation. Furthermore, it recently raised another $39 billion to likely become the largest IPO 0f 2021-2022.
Nerd Wallet
Nerd Wallet founder Tim Chen and Jacob Gibson started it in 2009 with just the $800 capital. They used the capital to build a site to help people with their credit cards during the Great Recession. Since then, the company’s growth has only exploded with several expanses covering the numerous aspects of personal finance.
Today, the company has more than 100 million users and generates $150 million in revenues annually. Nerd Wallet to go public with a $5 billion valuation.
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