(Bloomberg) — Digital marketing software company Ibotta Inc. filed for an initial public offering, following the successful debuts of Reddit Inc. and Astera Labs Inc. this week.
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The Denver-based company, which helps brands deliver mobile promotions through rewards and discounts, said in a filing Friday that it turned a profit last year, recouping previous losses. Ibotta, whose investors include Walmart Inc., will disclose proposed terms for its IPO in a later filing.
Bloomberg News reported in November that Ibotta was working with advisers and could seek a valuation of $2 billion or more if it went public.
The filing follows offerings from social media platform Reddit and semiconductor connectivity company Astera, which met and exceeded their IPO targets, respectively, and then posted profits in their trading debuts.
According to data compiled by Bloomberg, 44 companies have raised $9.1 billion through initial public offerings on U.S. exchanges so far this year. By comparison, 36 companies raised about $3.5 billion last year, the data shows.
Ibotta handles promotions for more than 2,400 brands, including Coca-Cola, Whirlpool and Hallmark, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company had a net profit of $38 million on revenue of $320 million last year, compared with a net loss of $55 million on revenue of $211 million the previous year, the company said Submission.
In 2019, Ibotta was valued at $1 billion in a Series D funding round led by Koch Disruptive Technologies, an investment arm of Koch Industries Inc. Other investors in the company included Kleiner Perkins and GGV Capital US, according to data provider PitchBook.
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Koch entities remain one of Ibotta's largest investors, holding about 21% of the company's Class A shares before the offering, according to the filing. Clark Jermoluk Founders Fund 1 LLC owns 25% of the Class A shares. Walmart, which has the right to buy more than 3.5 million shares, is also among shareholders with a stake of 5% or more.
Ibotta founder and Chief Executive Officer Bryan Leach owns all of the company's Class B shares, giving him nearly 79% of the voting rights ahead of the offering.
Digital promotions now account for the majority of consumer advertising, with 87% of consumers' grocery purchases influenced by deals, discounts and promotions, Leach said in a letter to investors included in the filing.
“The Ibotta experiment began 12 years ago in the windowless basement of an old fire station in downtown Denver,” Leach said. “To date, we have returned approximately $1.8 billion in cash back to U.S. consumers for their everyday purchases.”
Ibotta's board includes Larry Sonsini, whose law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is advising the company. Sonsini currently owns approximately 1.3% of the company's Class A shares.
The offering is being led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. directed. Ibotta plans to trade its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol IBTA.
– With assistance from Ryan Gould.
(Updates with IPO totals in fifth paragraph. The name Koch Disruptive Technologies has been corrected in an earlier version of this story.)
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