Lyft to hire advisor to prepare for IPO ahead of rival Uber
By Caoimhe Toman
Date: Friday 31 Aug 2018
(Sharecast News) - Ride hailing company Lyft has decided to hire an advisor to start the process for an initial public offering in an effort to beat rival Uber to the stock market, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
According to people familiar with the matter, Lyft hired IPO adviser Class V Group to work closely with management on the preparations to float. The company may start taking pitches from banks as soon as September and could consider listing for March or April 2019.
"A variety of factors will determine if and when Lyft goes public, but in the meantime we are focused on building our business, which continues to grow," said Lyft spokeswoman Alexandra LaManna. "We don't comment on rumors or speculation."
Listing at the same time as a rival could be risky for Lyft and Uber because it may be difficult to generate as much investor interest for both.
Nevertheless, Lyft going first could ensure better choices when hiring IPO bankers, since firms that underwrite the deal of one firm cannot do so for a competitor.
The ride hailer raised $600m in its most recent funding round led by Fidelity Management in June 2018, in a transaction that valued it a $15.1bn.
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