Canadian e-commerce software maker Shopify files for IPO

Shopify Inc, a Canadian e-commerce software maker, filed with U.S. regulators for an initial public offering of Class A common stock in Canada and the United States.

Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and RBC Capital Markets are among the major underwriters for the IPO, the company said in a filing with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. (http://1.usa.gov/1E03wBe)

Shopify intends to list its Class A common stock on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "SHOP" and "SH", respectively. Reuters reported last month that Shopify could go public as early as the spring, possibly with valuations over $1 billion.

Technology companies look set to supplant energy and mining firms as the driver of Canadian initial public offerings this year as global optimism about tech startups boosts valuations and spurs early investors to cash out.

Other Canadian companies looking to go public this year include property information provider Real Matters, online lender Mogo and PointClickCare, whose software supports the senior care market.

Shopify, whose platform is used by General Electric Co and Tesla Motors Inc among others, said 162,261 merchants had subscribed to its platform from about 150 countries as of March 31.

The company's filing, which included a nominal fundraising target of about $100 million, did not reveal how many Class A shares would be sold in the offering or their expected price.

Shopify's investors include venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners, FirstMark Capital LP, OMERS Ventures II LP and Canadian investment and consulting company Klister Credit Corp.

The company said it plans to use the net proceeds from the offering for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Shopify's net loss narrowed to $4.53 million in the three months ended March 31 from $6.37 million a year earlier. Its revenue nearly doubled to $37.35 million.

The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different.

(Reporting by Avik Das in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)