This Monday, Automation services provider UiPath headed by Daniel Dines said it has upped its IPO price from a broad range of $43 to $50 per share to a much narrower scale of $52 to $54. UiPath said it would now aim to raise around $1.3 billion, selling 23.9 million Class A shares along with a group of stockholders, priced between $52 and $54 each. To recap, the only difference between the shares is that the Class B shares come with greater voting rights. At that level, PATH (UiPath’s ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange) will have a basic, non-diluted market cap of about $26.9B if the offering prices at $52, or roughly $27.9B if the IPO prices at $54.
Despite the strong reputation, UiPath caused a bit of a surprise last week when it set its initial IPO price range, as it failed to find the value that its private backers had expected. The company was valued at $35 billion as recently as February, following its final, $750 million financings round.
It’s said that UiPath’s value has been hurt by higher U.S. Treasury yields since February that has set off broad declines in the market capitalization of many high-growth tech firms. The volatility has been such that some startups, such as Instacart, are said to be considering delaying their IPOs.
Regardless of the valuation, IPOs aren’t just about the extra cash but also the additional awareness they bring.
“UiPath is kicking butt and this should be an extremely successful IPO and I predict it will only extend its market-leading position. Going public not only brings capital, but it also brings a presence and awareness, which is critical to compete with companies like Microsoft and other incumbent players.”
Dave Vellante, Chief Analyst at SiliconANGLE
You can also take a deeper dive into the analysis of UiPath’s IPO if you watch this video with Dave Vellante.
