Snowflake's IPO Prices Far Above Its Target Range -- WSJ
September 16 2020 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
By Corrie Driebusch
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (September 16, 2020).
Silicon Valley darling Snowflake Inc. priced its initial public
offering above its expected range on Tuesday, joining a frenzied
IPO market as the biggest technology issue so far this year.
The IPO priced at $120 a share, a person familiar with the
matter said. The price was driven above Snowflake's target range of
$100 to $110 by investors hungry for a piece of the fast-growing
company, which offers businesses cloud-based data management.
The pricing gives Snowflake a valuation of roughly $33 billion.
That is more than double the $12.4 billion valuation it reached in
a private funding round earlier this year, a sign of the enthusiasm
surrounding U.S.-listed IPOs in 2020.
The stock is set to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange
under the symbol "SNOW" on Wednesday.
Snowflake joins a flood of companies racing to the public
markets this year. Through the end of last week, companies listing
in the U.S. have raised more than $78 billion in their IPOs, on
pace for one of the biggest money-raising years for new issues
since the tech boom of 2000, according to data provider
Dealogic.
Snowflake, one of the most hotly anticipated tech offerings of
the year among software and cloud-data investors, epitomizes the
hunger among investors for the growth that IPOs tend to promise.
With interest rates near historic lows and the Federal Reserve
pouring trillions of dollars into the economy, investors are
seeking places to put their money where they can get better
returns.
In its last fiscal year ended in January, Snowflake's revenue
grew 174% from the year before, according to a regulatory filing.
Its net loss also grew during that period, and Snowflake remains
unprofitable.
Adding to the hype: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has
agreed to make a concurrent $250 million investment in Snowflake,
alongside current investor Salesforce Ventures LLC, Salesforce.com
Inc.'s corporate investment arm, which has also pledged $250
million.
Snowflake had already raised its expected price range on Monday.
At the $33 billion valuation, Snowflake will be the second-largest
company to go public in 2020 after Quicken Loans parent Rocket
Cos., according to data provider Dealogic.
The San Mateo, Calif.-based company's data warehouse allows its
corporate customers to share data across multiple online storage
systems.
Snowflake is run by Chief Executive Frank Slootman, who is no
stranger to the IPO process. In the past, he successfully steered
software firm ServiceNow Inc. and data-solutions company Data
Domain Inc. through IPOs when he served as CEO of each.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley are leading
Snowflake's offering.
Write to Corrie Driebusch at corrie.driebusch@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 16, 2020 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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