Ly ft hitting the road
Show starts Monday, seeking $2B: sources
Ride-hailing platform Lyft will launch the investor road show for its initial public offering on Monday, seeking to raise as much as $2 billion and to be valued at more than $20 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Lyft will be seeking to persuade investors to make large commitments to its IPO, rather than hold out for its larger rival Uber, which is planning to launch its own public offering next month, the sources said.
Lyft will meet with investors across the US before pricing the IPO and listing on the Nasdaq at the end of the month, the sources said. It will be pitching itself as a more focused bet on ridehailing to differentiate itself from Uber, which has diversified to areas such as food delivery and freight hauling, and expanded around the world, the sources said.
Uber is seeking a valuation as high as $120 billion at its IPO, although some analysts have pegged it closer to $100 billion based on selected financial figures it has disclosed. Neither Uber nor Lyft are profitable.
Lyft’s IPO will provide a funding boost as it continues to subsidize rides with promotions to attract passengers. The IPO will also help finance investments in areas such as autonomous driving, the sources said.
Lyft declined to comment.
Lyft’s IPO will mark the first time a ride-hailing company has debuted on the US public markets. Lyft launched in 2012 and is led by its founders, Logan Green and John Zimmer.
The ride-hailing industry, which touted $36.5 billion in sales globally in 2017, is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, but is fraught with questions about the future of automated driving, regulatory pushback and legal challenges over drivers’ pay and benefits.
Lyft will emphasize to investors its rapid growth in the US and its relatively uncomplicated business model.
In its IPO filing, Lyft said its US market share has risen to 39 percent, from 35 percent early in 2018, gain- ing some ground on longdominant Uber. Unlike Uber, Lyft operates only in North America.
Lyft’s revenue was $2.16 billion for 2018, double the previous year and up 528 percent from $343 million in 2016. But Lyft posted a loss of $911 million for 2018, which climbed from $688 million in 2017 and $682 million in 2016, according to its IPO filing.
Losses could continue to mount, Lyft cautioned, as it continues to invest and eye a broader international expansion, and it could be forced to increase driver pay.
Uber’s revenue last year was $11.3 billion, while its gross bookings from rides were $50 billion. But the company lost $3.3 billion, excluding gains from the sale of its overseas business units in Russia and Southeast Asia.