Key Takeaways:
- Reddit has filed for an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- The filing comes as IPOs in the United States reached new highs in 2021, propelled by abundant liquidity due to accommodating monetary policies. Some of the startups that have gone public in the United States this year include Robinhood Markets Inc, Coupang Inc, and Coinbase Global.
Reddit, the social media platform that fueled this year’s meme stock craze, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on a confidential basis.
According to the San Francisco-based corporation, the number of shares and planned price range for an IPO have yet to be finalized. According to the statement, the listing is likely to occur when the US Securities and Exchange Commission completes its assessment process, subject to market and other conditions.
According to Reuters, the company hoped to reach over $15 billion by the time it planned to float its shares.
The company’s message boards were at the center of a heated struggle between small-time traders and some of Wall Street’s biggest players, resulting in huge gains in heavily shorted shares of companies, including GameStop (NYSE:GME) AMC, as well as popularising the phrase meme stocks.
Since its inception in 2005, the firm has grown to become one of the most powerful social media platforms on the planet. Reddit said in February that it has more than 50 million daily users. In addition, there are over 100,000 active groups on the internet, which includes message boards on a wide range of topics.
Some people joked about pumping the deal when it became available on the Reddit thread WallStreetBets.
“I’m all for it. When are we going to begin?” 9axle, a Reddit user, said in a post
In March, Drew Vollero was hired as Reddit’s first chief financial officer as the first step toward a public listing. Vollero is most known for leading Snap Inc.’s initial public offering (IPO) in 2017.
Reddit was “a place for open and honest discussion and debate,” including “conversations that question or disagree with popular consensus,” after Huffman remarked that disguising and getting vaccinated was the right road forward during the pandemic.
Days later, the business stated that “many of our members are puzzled and even irritated with our handling of Covid denial content on the site” and removed a subreddit that reportedly contained Covid-related misinformation.
In the second quarter, Reddit earned $100 million in advertising revenue for the first time, nearly tripling its revenue from a year earlier, according to a statement released in August. It’s now looking to expand into audio and video with more expensive ad rates.
If Reddit pursues an IPO, more information about its operations and finances will be revealed in a public filing.
