Lyft likely to raise as much as $2b in IPO

Ride-hailing plaform Lyt Inc said on Monday it would raise as much as $2 billion in its much-awaited initial public offering.

Lyt expects to price 30.77 million shares between $62 and $68 per share, it said in a filing.

At the higher end of the range, the company will have a market valuation of $19.64 billion. The San Francisco, California-based company was seeking a valuation above $20 billion, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the mater.

Lyt’s Chief Executive Logan Green and Vice President John Zimmer together will hold 48.8 per cent of voting power ater the offering.

The company expects to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol “LYFT”.

JP Morgan, Credit Suisse and Jefferies are among the lead bookrunners for the listing.

Lyt now has nearly 40 per cent of the US ride-sharing market, but warned further growth could come at the expense of yet more losses for a company already deep in the red, according to the filing.

The company has managed to grab market share from beter-funded Uber, but the filing failed to provide answers to how it will sustain growth or achieve profitability.

“We will see how they perform as they have to start filing quarterly and managing shareholder expectations,” said Alex Castelli, managing partner of emerging markets for advisory and accounting firm Cohnreznick.

Lyt’s revenue was $2.16 billion for 2018, double the previous year and up 528 per cent from $343 million in 2016.