MuleSoft shows tech IPOs alive

bengaluru — Software firm MuleSoft kicked off what is expected to be a string of technology offerings from relatively obscure companies that sell business software and promise to satisfy the appetite of public investors after a protracted IPO drought.

San Francisco-based MuleSoft closed out its first day on Wall Street with shares trading at $23.80, a 40 per cent pop that valued the company at nearly $3 billion, about double the valuation it commanded at its last private financing event in 2015.

The offering of 13 million shares was priced at $17 each on Thursday, above the expected range of $14 to $16. Shares opened on Friday up 43 per cent, debuting at $24.25 apiece.

The strong debut signals robust investor appetite for what are referred to as “meat-andpotatoes” technology offerings — enterprise software firms with moderate valuations but solid business models — and confidence in their ability to perform well in the public markets.

Snap, the owner of the popular social media app Snapchat, grabbed attention when it went public earlier this month at a stunning $24 billion valuation.

But “meat-and-potatoes” firms are a more accurate barometer of how so-called “unicorn” technology firms — firms worth $1 billion or more — will fare in the public markets, say investors and analysts. —