Klaviyo hires bankers, plans for late 2023 IPO
Marketing-automation company’s plans show potential thaw in new-issue market
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Marketing-automation platform Klaviyo Inc. plans to list its shares publicly, according to people familiar with the matter, a sign of life in an otherwise lackluster IPO market.
Klaviyo, which was valued at $9.5 billion in a funding round in 2021, has tapped Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to be lead underwriter for the listing, which could take place as early as September, the people said.
Should the company manage to debut on that schedule, it would be one of the first big initial public offerings of 2023. Boston-based Klaviyo, which also stores and manages customer data for business-to-consumer brands, is profitable, making it more attractive to potential investors.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 18: The Goldman Sachs building stands in lower Manhattan on January 18, 2022 in New York City. Klaviyo has tapped the bank to take the lead in underwriting its IPO. ((Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
That could set the stage for some of the dozens of companies waiting in the wings to list shares, including grocery-delivery company Instacart Inc. and British chip designer Arm Ltd.
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There is no guarantee a Klaviyo IPO will take place this year. The new-issue market has already had a number of false starts, susceptible as it is to the economic uncertainty and market turbulence that have abounded lately.
Instacart has been waiting months for it's IPO, hoping to enter the market during a more optimistic period. Here an Instacart worker places bags in the trunk of a car. (Instacart)
After a record-breaking 2021, the U.S. IPO market ground to a near halt last year as inflation jumped, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, and the perceived value of high-growth, unprofitable companies plummeted. U.S. IPOs raised less money than in any other year going back at least two decades, according to Dealogic.
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The majority of companies that went public in the U.S. during the boom of 2020-2021 are now trading below their IPO prices.
In early March, many bankers said they were seeing signs of hope in a string of big stock sales by public companies.
SVB's dramatic collapse in early March, has sent the IPO market into another slump. In this photo illustration, the Silicon Valley Bank logo is visible on a smartphone, with the stock market index in the background. on March 14, 2023. (Photo Illustration by Andrea Ronchini/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
That optimism faded after Silicon Valley Bank’s failure shook the stock market. However, the IPO window rarely remains shut for long, and bankers and investors say they expect established, profitable companies will be able to debut later this year if volatility subsides.
Klaviyo was founded in 2012 by Andrew Bialecki, its chief executive, and Ed Hallen, chief product officer, to help companies send more targeted marketing emails and text messages. Last May, Klaviyo hired Amanda Whalen, former chief financial officer for Walmart International, as its CFO.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMT | WALMART INC. | 90.44 | +2.04 | +2.31% |
| SHOP | SHOPIFY INC. | 106.95 | +0.46 | +0.43% |
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Last year, the company posted more than $575 million in recurring revenue, according to people familiar with the matter. It couldn’t be learned how much money the company made. It also received a $100 million investment from Shopify Inc.