Handmade Goods Site Etsy Valued at $3.88 Billion in IPO Shares of the online marketplace for crafts more than doubled in their debut.
By Reuters
This story originally appeared on Reuters
Shares of Etsy Inc, an online marketplace for handmade goods and craft supplies, more than doubled in their debut on Thursday, valuing the company at about $3.88 billion.
The company's initial public offering of about 16.7 million shares raised about $267 million, after it was priced at the top end of the expected range of $14-$16.
New York-based Etsy sold 13.3 million shares in the offering, while stockholders including venture capital firms Accel Partners, Index Ventures, Union Square Ventures and Acton Capital sold the rest.
Founded in 2005 by Robert Kalin, Etsy has grown from a website selling just wooden goods to an online community where crafters and artists offer handmade and vintage goods.
Etsy, which has 29 million items listed on its website, offers jewelry, stationery, clothing, home goods, craft supplies and vintage items.
The company's revenue comes from listing fees and commissions on sales as well as from its advertising platform, payment processing and shipping services.
Etsy, whose larger rivals include Amazon.com Inc, eBay Inc and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, had 1.4 million active sellers and 19.8 million active buyers as of December.
The global online retail market is expected to grow about 17 percent to $1.5 trillion between 2013 and 2018, according to consumer market research firm Euromonitor.
Etsy's revenue rose 56 percent to $195.6 million in the year ended Dec. 31. The company's net loss widened to $15.2 million from $796,000 a year earlier.
Etsy's shares were up 115 percent at $34.48 in late morning trading.
The stock, which was the top percentage gainer on the Nasdaq, opened at $31 and touched a high of $35.
Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Allen & Co LLC were underwriters to the IPO.
(Reporting by Neha Dimri in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirti Pandey)
