UPDATED – Gaming platform Roblox to delay IPO until next year

UPDATE (12.12.2020): Roblox to delay IPO until next year

According to Reuters, Roblox told employees in a memo that it has delayed its planned initial public offering until next year.

“We’ve seen companies take innovative approaches to creating a more market-based relationship between investors and companies,” Roblox Chief Executive David Baszucki said in the memo on Friday.

“We’ve decided to take this opportunity to work with our advisors to see how we can make such improvements.”

A person familiar with the company said to Reuters it hoped to get a higher IPO pricing after seeing Airbnb Inc and DoorDash Inc spike on their first day trading this week, which it sees as examples of companies underpricing IPO shares and leaving money on the table.

Roblox had filed to raise $1 billion through an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange and was expected to join a year-end IPO wave.

UPDATE (12.10.2020): Roblox confidentially files to go public

Gaming platform Roblox announced on Monday in a written statement that it has previously submitted a draft registration statement on a confidential basis to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed public offering of its common stock.

“The number of shares of Class A common stock to be sold and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. “

(October 2, 2020) – As reported by Reuters, US-based online gaming platform Roblox is working with investment banks to prepare to go public with a U.S. stock market listing which is expected to come early next year and increase the company’s current $4 billion valuation to $8 billion, sources familiar with the matter said. 

The demand for video games has skyrocketed due to the ongoing lockdown measures which led people to look for activities to keep themselves entertained while staying at home. You may want to use the tools from Battlelog to improve your gaming skills. According to recent data by NPD Group, consumer spending in the United States reached $11.6 billion in the second quarter of 2020, with a 30% increase year-over-year.

US-based gaming platform Roblox has seen an upward trend in its downloads and revenue too. As of June, it surpassed $1.5 billion in user spendings according to data by Sensor Tower. 

As we shared with you in a previous article, the company in July announced Roblox is now played by more than half of US kids and teens under 16.  

And earlier this year, it raised $150 million in a Series G funding round led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and its valuation rose to $4 billion.  At the time of the fundraising, the company reported 115 million monthly active users and over 1.5 billion hours of monthly engagement. 

Multiple sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Roblox is now getting ready for a US stock market listing which the company expects to double its $4 billion current valuation. 

But Roblox hasn’t decided yet whether to go public through a traditional IPO or a direct listing and will decide based on market conditions, according to the sources who requested to remain anonymous. 

If it went with a direct listing, no new shares would be sold and underwriting banks do not weigh in on the pricing.