Lyft's IPO value could reach $23 billion

Uber's main U.S. competitor, Lyft, has announced a preliminary valuation of the company's shares ahead of its IPO next week. The company is valued at $21-23 billion. The Lyft offering will be the first big tech IPO of 2019.

More. Sources from Bloomberg and Reuters called a preliminary estimate of the cost of 100% Lyft at $20-25 billion. WSJ interlocutors gave a more accurate estimate this information this afternoon : according to their version, the company expects $21-23 billion. Lyft confirmed , announcing a price range of $62-68 per share.

This week, Lyft will hold a road show that will determine the final price by March 28. Lyft stock trading on the NASDAQ is scheduled to begin on March 29th. During the IPO, the company will sell about 10% of its shares and expects to raise at least $2 billion.

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• Lyft's main competitor, Uber, is set to IPO in April and is based on a $120 billion valuation. Lyft will market its focus on its core business, passenger travel, as its advantage during its roadshow, writes the WSJ.
• After the placement, the main role in the company will remain with its founders - John Zimmer (President) and Logan Green (CEO). Together they own 7% of Lyft's shares, but have about 50% of the votes - each paper of the founders has 20 votes. Ordinary shareholders will have one vote each.
• Lyft's IPO could be the largest tech offering in the US market since Snap's IPO in 2017, Bloomberg notes. It will be closely watched by other companies that plan to go public this year - Uber, Pinterest, Slack, Airbnb. Depending on the results of the Lyft placement, the cost of Uber will also be calculated, the bankers say.

Read also Uber and Lyft pre-IPO bonuses in cash or shares of their drivers

Context. Lyft was valued at $15.1 billion in its most recent funding round in early 2018. Since then, the company has been performing well, more than doubling its annual revenue last year to $2.16 billion, and since the end of 2016 it almost tripled the number of active users and increased its market share from 35% to 39%. True, the net loss last year increased from $688.3 to $911.2 million compared to 2017.

Liana Faizova