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=• Udemy has a market value of $3.7 billion after its debut, down from $4.3 billion
• Corporate customers include companies such as Citi, Jaguar, PayPal, Box
Education technology firm Udemy Inc’s shares opened below the offer, making the market debut one of the worst initial public offerings in the U.S. this year.
The San Francisco-based company sold its shares for $29 in the IPO; however, on Friday, it opened at $27 and fell more than 10% at around 11 a.m. in the Nasdaq stock exchange.
The company sold 14.5 million shares on Thursday and raised $421 million.
Financials
Accounting for employee stock options, Udemy has a fully diluted value closer to $4.3 billion, which dropped to about $3.7 billion after the debut.
The tech startup was valued at $3.3 billion in private investment last year after raising a $50 million investment from Tencent.
In a year in which IPOs have eclipsed previous records, Udemy’s is one of only 33 out of almost 200 listings of $200 million or more in which the stock opened below the offer price, Bloomberg reported citing its complied data.
Udemy ranked 19th worst of those, excluding blank-check companies, the data show.
Prospectus
Udemy, in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said its biggest investor is Insight Partners, which holds more than 30% along with its affiliates.
Other top shareholders include MIH Edtech Investments, a unit of Prosus NV, and Norwest Venture Partners.
The online education company said it recorded a revenue of $251 million in the first six months of 2021, up from $201 million the year before. Its net loss narrowed to $29 million from $52 million a year ago.
Udemy provides video courses across a variety of categories over the internet.
While the company said it had more than 201 million course enrollments last year, with over 44 million users globally, it boasts corporate customers like Citigroup Inc, Jaguar Land Rover, PayPal Holdings Inc and Box Inc.
In the risk-factors section of the prospectus, Udemy acknowledges that it’s in a highly competitive market, with big market players like Microsoft Corp’s LinkedIn Learning, Coursera Inc and Pluralsight Inc.
Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co are leading the offering. Udemy’s shares are trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol UDMY.
Picture Credit: Investment U