GoPro captures $427M in IPO
Action-camera maker aims to eventually profit from content
NEW YORK — GoPro Inc., whose cameras let surfers, skiers and skydivers record their exploits, gave investors an adrenalin rush of their own as it jumped in its debut following an initial public offering.
GoPro gained 31 per cent to $31.34 U.S. in New York, after the company and its shareholders raised $427 million by selling the shares for $24 each — the high end of a marketed range.
The IPO, which valued San Mateo, Calif.-based GoPro at $2.96 billion, came a decade after chief executive officer Nicholas Woodman, 39, started the company. With almost three years of footage uploaded last year by customers, GoPro is tapping a younger, selfie-driven generation and plans eventually to make money from that content.
“Everybody of course was very curious about our media business and what we believe it can grow into,” Woodman said Thursday. “The answer is that it’s a natural extension of our existing business. Our focus is to help customers capture, manage, share quality content.”
Woodman conceived of the idea for GoPro during a surfing trip after the Internet marketing firm he started after college went belly up during the dot-com bust. At the IPO price, his post-offering stake in the company of 52.4 million shares would be valued at about $1.3 billion.
“Everybody of course was very curious about our media business and what we believe it can grow into.” NICHOLAS WOODMAN
Woodman sold 3.6 million shares in the offering, according to the prospectus, equivalent to $85.5 million of stock. He pared his voting control to about 48 per cent from 49 per cent, the filing shows. Selling shareholders also included Riverwood Capital LP, Foxconn Technology Group and Sageview Capital Partners LP.
GoPro users’ videos showcase everything from a pelican’s eye view to bungee-jumping off a bridge, and the company is creating a media platform to profit from that content. GoPro’s business selling waterproof cameras for $199.99 to $399.99 is already profitable. It sold 3.8 million cameras last year.
The company’s profit margin narrowed to 37 per cent in 2013 from 43 per cent in 2012, as research and development costs doubled, regulatory filings show. Revenue jumped 87 per cent.
GoPro distributes user-generated content through Facebook Inc., Instagram Inc. and Twitter Inc. On Google Inc.’s YouTube alone, there have been more than 500 million views of GoPro videos. While the company hasn’t yet derived revenue from media, it expects to start collecting fees this quarter from advertising through its partnerships with Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox Live and channels on YouTube and Virgin America Inc.