Lyft reportedly plans to debut on Nasdaq next month

NelsonG · February 20, 2019

Ride-hailing company Lyft plans to file its initial public offering in March, possibly beating rival Uber to the milestone.

Two reports, one from Reuters, the other from WSJ, indicate Lyft plans to list its shares on Nasdaq next month. The WSJ, citing unnamed sources, reported Lyft may make the filing public as early as next week. Reuters also reported that the ride-hailing company plans to launch the roadshow for its IPO during the week of March 18.

Lyft spokeswoman Alexandra LaManna said the company is declining comment.

Lyft and larger rival Uber have been moving toward their respective IPOs for months now. Lyft filed in December a draft registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its lPO.

Lyft did not state the number of shares it expects to offer nor the price range in its confidential filing with the SEC. Lyft said at the time it expected to make its initial public offering after the SEC finishes its review process.

Lyft was last valued at more than $15 billion, while competitor Uber is valued north of $100 billion. Uber, of course, is also expected to go public in 2019.

Lyft selected last year JPMorgan Chase & Co. as the lead underwriter of its initial public offering, along with Credit Suisse Group and Jefferies Group.

Lyft has been aggressively expanding into new U.S. cities, as well as into Canada, and pursuing its autonomous vehicle ambitions. Lyft has increased its market share in the U.S. to 35 percent. In January 2017, Lyft had just 22 percent market share in the United States.

Lyft has raised $2.9 billion in primary capital since April 2017. In total, Lyft has raised $5.1 billion since its inception.

This is a developing story.