Twitter has finally decided to list itself on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), ending a kind of cold war battle between NYSE and rival NASDAQ, with each trying its bit to get the coveted IPO. According to a report from CNBC, Twitter is expected to raise around $1.5 billion.
Twitter vs. Facebook IPO
The micro blogging site that announced on Twitter that it has filed an S-1 to the SEC for its upcoming Initial public offering will try not to enter into similar issues faced by Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) when it went public last year.
The largest social network, Facebook, was listed on NASDAQ, owned by NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ), and offered more than $16 billion worth of stock, the largest tech IPO issued in United States history.
However, Twitter’s path differs from Facebook as the company is planning to sell between 50 million and 55 million shares in the offering, which will be priced between $28 and $30 per share, and is expected to raise funds $1.4 billion and $1.65 billion. The company will be valued around $15 billion or $16 billion.
According to Santosh Rao, a senior analyst at Greencrest Capital Management, discussions will likely consume 30 to 60 days before settling with SEC and launching the IPO. The IPO is expected to launch towards the end of the year based on the assumption that this confidential S-1 was filed in September, as reported.
Rao added that one of the brokers—on behalf of a large investor network associated with the company—was trying to make a private secondary market purchasing transaction on Twitter shares. They agreed upon paying as much as $28 for each share. However, the broker could not find any sellers, as everyone is expecting Twitter to go up. There was no word from Twitter over the public offering plans.
There is very little information on the IPO of Twitter as the San Francisco-based firm filed S-1 documentation with SEC under the JOBS act, which allows the company to go public without being subjected to the initial security of investors if revenue of the company is less than $1 billion.
Rao said that on talking to the venture capitalists and large owners of the stock, who have close knowledge of IPO negotiations, he found that the company is performing well, and current revenue will be impressive when the S-1 filings details come out.
