By
Steve Muchoki
April 19th, 2024
According to Renaissance Capital, GitLab would have a fully diluted market value of $9.4 billion at the “midpoint of its first recommended range.”
Gitlab Inc is now on course to debut on Nasdaq with a valuation that could rise to $10 billion. The software development platform updated its IPO filing to include a higher expected pricing interval. A statement from GitLab revealed that the company and co-founder Sytse “Sid” Sijbrandij sold 10.4 million shares for $77 each on Wednesday after marketing them for $66 to $69 apiece. On Tuesday, Gitlab raised its price goal from $55 to $60, up from a previous range of $55 to $60. According to the outstanding shares mentioned in its IPO filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gitlab has a market value of $ 11 billion at $77 a share. The company’s fully diluted valuation would be more than $12 billion after accounting for employee stock options and restricted stock units.
GitLab was expected to be worth $7.9 billion to $8.6 billion in its first IPO price range, with 143,534,821 shares outstanding following its offering (inclusive of its underwriters’ option). According to Renaissance Capital, GitLab would have a fully diluted market value of $9.4 billion at the “midpoint of its first recommended range.”
The company’s chief executive officer, Sijbrandij, had planned to sell 1.98 million shares which would be worth $152 million at the IPO price. GitLab investors, according to the filings include Alphabet Inc.’s GV, funds, and affiliates of August Capital, Iconiq Capital, and Khosla Ventures.
According to the company’s filings, the proceeds of the offering will be utilized for general corporate operations and working capital. GitLab revealed via the prospectus that, the primary goal of the listing is to offer a public market for the company’s shares as well as raise its visibility. The offering is led by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Bank of America Corp. GitLab’s shares are expected to begin trading today on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker GTLB.
The jump in the company’s new IPO valuation range has already sent the chills through the veins of its investors. One of such investors is Joe Montana, whose Liquid 2 Ventures invested in GitLab when its valuation was about $12 million after the software company came out of the Y Combinator accelerator program.
At GitLab’s current valuation, Montana would see a 420-fold return on his investment. The legendary NFL quarterback’s initial $100,000 investment, along with some follow-on funding, will now be worth about $42 million at that price. “We’re all pretty pumped. This is going to be a monster for us.” the 65-year-old said in an interview this week while vacationing in Italy.