Lyft will launch a road show for an IPO of up to $ 2 billion: sources

(Reuters) – The Lyft Inc platform will launch the investor road show Monday on its IPO, with the goal of raising up to $ 2 billion and worth more than $ 20 billion, according to reports. close to the file.

Lyft will seek to convince investors to make significant commitments for its IPO, rather than wait for its biggest rival, Uber Technologies Inc. [UBER.UL], which plans to launch its own public offering next month, said these sources.

Lyft will meet investors across the United States before determining the price of the initial public offering and its IPO on Nasdaq at the end of the month, the sources said. It will present itself as a more focused gamble on speeding up to differentiate itself from Uber, which has diversified into areas such as food delivery and freight transportation, and has grown worldwide, indicated the sources.

Uber is seeking a valuation up to $ 120 billion during its IPO, although some badysts have close to $ 100 billion, based on certain financial figures provided by the latter. Neither Uber nor Lyft are profitable.

The Lyft IPO will provide a financial boost as it continues to subsidize travel with promotions to attract pbadengers. The impact of the IPO will also fund investments in areas such as autonomous driving, the sources said.

Lyft refused to comment.

After a quiet start to the year, technology companies are preparing to be listed on the stock market as equity markets move closer to historic highs, but remain vulnerable to geopolitical concerns, including trade agreement tensions and slowing economies. , especially European and Chinese.

Other Silicon Valley unicorns – start-up companies with a valuation of at least $ 1 billion – include Slack Technologies Inc., a commercial messaging company, and the Toronto-based company. Pinterest images Inc., are waiting behind the scenes to become public later in 2019, sources said.

FIRST OF THE GENDER

The Lyft Initial Public Offering will mark the first time that a company specializing in buyout has made its debut on US government markets. Lyft was launched in 2012 and is led by its founders, Logan Green and John Zimmer.

The airline industry, which has announced global sales of $ 36.5 billion in 2017, is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years, but raises many questions about the future of automated driving, regulatory backflow and the legal challenges of driver compensation and benefits.

Lyft will emphasize to investors its rapid growth in the United States and its relatively straightforward business model of selling attractions in cars, motorcycles and scooters, Reuters reported.

In its IPO, Lyft said its market share in the United States had increased by 35% in early 2018, from 35% in early 2018, gaining ground on the long dominant market. # 39; Uber. Unlike Uber, Lyft is only present in North America.

Lyft's business figure stood at 2.16 billion USD for 2018, double the previous year and an increase of 528 percent from the 343 million USD in 2016. However , Lyft reported a loss of $ 911 million for 2018, up $ 688 million in 2017 and $ 682 million in 2016, according to its IPO. deposit.

Losses could continue to rise, Lyft warned, as the company continued to invest and was considering a broader international expansion, and that it might be forced to raise wages drivers.

Uber's revenues reached $ 11.3 billion last year, while gross airline bookings were $ 50 billion. However, the company lost $ 3.3 billion, excluding gains on the sale of its business units abroad in Russia and Southeast Asia.

The SoftBank Vision Fund and Toyota Motor Corp. are part of a consortium of investors to invest $ 1 billion in Uber's self-driving unit, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Dealing with large investors who will influence a key business is an unusual move for a company so close to an IPO.