5 IPOs that you need to know about this year
It’s a big thing bringing your company to the market, it shows maturity and confidence in the enterprise. An Initial Public Offering can make the business’ owners instant billionaires, as with Glencore and Facebook, but also has the potential to slash their on-paper worth à la King.com. Here are five IPOs that we think are worth keeping an eye on this year:
Alibaba
On the face of it, as a company that links manufacturers to consumers, one wouldn’t really think Alibaba was worth all that much, and yet it’s quickly become the most anticipated IPO of the year. A company that’s been valued by some at over $200 billion, there’s no doubt that Alibaba is going to be a force to be reckoned with. If their rumoured discounted IPO rate is true, compared to their supposed valuation, then it looks likely to avoid the post-IPO slump that hit Facebook when it went to market in May 2012.
Dropbox
An ubiquitous name for anyone in modern business, there’s no doubt about the effectiveness and widespread use of Dropbox. It’s rumoured to be preparing for an IPO later this year, although competition fuelled by Google Drive’s discounted rate has put it in danger. Regardless of this competition however, it’s difficult to see Dropbox losing too much of its market share, and is therefore still an exciting one to watch.
Virgin America
Oddly enough, although the airline shares Branson’s name, he’s not the main stakeholder, mostly down to US aviation laws stating that an airline must be American-owned for it to be able to conduct internal flights. They made $10.1 million last year, although the airline did post a loss in the first quarter of this year, and have now filed for an IPO with some sources saying they’re seeking to raise over $300 million. Airlines have done exceptionally well recently due to higher demand and greatly increased revenue from all manner of extra fees, with Virgin America’s revenue almost tripling between 2009 and 2013.
Spotify
Rumours currently abound about Spotify’s potential issuing of an IPO, sparked by the posting of a job advertisement that’s been taken as a signal of intent by the business world. The job is described as requiring the candidate to help comply with US restrictions for publicly traded companies, which makes Spotify a very interesting one to watch indeed. The music streaming giant could make investors a pretty penny, with its global subscriber base exceeding 10 million in May.
The third largest social network in the US is another big name in tech that may well be issuing an IPO soon. Much has been made of the potential value of the company as it could be worth a significant amount more than Facebook and Twitter. $5 billion according to some. Surely not, you say? Well, analysts have heralded the commercial potential of Pinterest, as it is exceptionally more product-based than its social media competitors and so lends itself much more ably to advertising, which it has recently begun to do with ‘promoted pins.’
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