Yahoo Finanzen The 10 Most Anticipated IPOs of 2017
This has been one of the slowest years for initial public offerings since the recession. Thankfully, that's a positive omen for 2017 IPOs, as many companies that considered filing will wait until 2017 to go public.
Companies file for an IPO for all sorts of reasons: to recruit and maintain talent, to reward insiders, for liquidity, to raise money for expansion -- you name it.
The number of hyped-up, huge companies that could see 2017 IPOs should have investors very excited going into the new year.
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Snap Inc. Snap Inc., the newly renamed parent company of ethereal messaging app Snapchat, has already filed for an IPO, making it the single most anticipated surefire IPO of 2017. The Snapchat IPO could come as early as March 2017, and could seek a valuation of $25 billion, making it the largest U.S. technology IPO since Facebook ( FB) went public in 2012 at an $81 billion valuation. CEO Evan Spiegel certainly has a sense for timing, turning down Facebook's $3 billion all-cash offer in 2013, a move seen by many at the time as sheer insanity. Less than 18 months later, the company was worth $15 billion on the private markets.
Palantir Technologies. Palantir, the data-mining company co-founded by the eccentric libertarian venture capitalist Peter Thiel in 2004, could be one of the biggest IPOs of 2017. The notoriously secretive company's largest clients are governments, the finance industry, and legal research firms, which use Palantir's software to make connections from huge swaths of data that might otherwise prove invisible. Palantir has long avoided going public but its employees and investors are anxious for liquidity. Given the company's $20 billion valuation, Palantir would go down as one of the largest 2017 IPOs if it filed.
Spotify. When will Spotify go public? Due to terms in one of the music-streaming company's recent funding rounds, it looks increasingly likely that Spotify will go public in 2017. In early 2016, Spotify raised $1 billion in convertible debt at an $8.5 billion valuation. The terms, which make the interest rate on the debt rise by 1 percent every six months until either it hits 10 percent or goes public, heavily incentivize Spotify to go public ASAP. Though Spotify's revenue jumped 80 percent in 2015 to $2.2 billion, competition is heating up with Apple ( AAPL), Pandora Media ( P) and others, so raising more money may be necessary anyway.
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Vice Media. Vice Media, which counts 21st Century Fox ( FOXA) and Walt Disney Co. ( DIS) as two of its largest investors, has quickly emerged from obscurity to become one of the world's most exciting media companies. Valued at upwards of $4 billion, Vice plans to expand into Asia, India and Africa. CEO Shane Smith has said the company would "be stupid" not to entertain an IPO. Vice's gritty style and willingness to obtain first-person footage of war zones, terrorists and dictatorial regimes seriously differentiates it; should it go public, its strong brand and millennial-heavy audience makes it one of the most interesting 2017 IPOs.
Pinterest. In October 2016, the social photo-sharing website poached Todd Morgenfeld, who was a VP of finance at Twitter ( TWTR), to be Pinterest's first-ever CFO. This makes Pinterest, valued at $11 billion, look primed to debut on the public markets. "Because of Pinterest's ability to touch an almost unlimited spectrum of special interest groups, their revenue potential is very strong. If they choose to move forward with an IPO they should be on very strong ground," says Dave Louton, finance professor at Bryant University.
Uber. Of all the possible 2017 IPOs, a public offering from ride-hailing giant Uber, valued at nearly $70 billion, would doubtlessly be the biggest of the year. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has spoken of pushing back an Uber IPO for as long as possible, but a recent merger of Uber China with bitter Chinese rival Didi Chuxing could pave the way for a 2017 offering. This makes a 2017 IPO more likely since China was a huge profit suck for Uber. Still, Uber lost over $1.2 billion in the first half of 2016. "Uber needs to get expenses and losses under control quickly," says K C Ma, professor of finance at Stetson University.
Didi Chuxing. Didi's August 2016 absorption of Uber China also puts the Chinese ride-hailing giant in better position to go public, as it won't have to sink nearly as much money into competing with Uber in its home market. Didi Chuxing, which was valued at $33 billion in a September 2016 funding round, counts Apple, Alibaba Group Holding ( BABA) and Tencent as three of its major investors, and was reportedly mulling a 2017 IPO before the Uber China merger in order to fund further expansion.
Slack. Slack, the enterprise messaging app, is growing like crazy. Between mid-2015 and mid-2016, Slack's daily active users tripled from 1 million to 3 million, and about one third of those are paid members. Slack's user base is relatively small at the moment, but its torrid growth rate makes it an investor's dream. CEO Stewart Butterfield said in November 2015 that the earliest the company could go public would be 18 months later, meaning Slack's IPO could be on the table as soon as mid-2017.
Dropbox. Cloud storage and work collaboration company Dropbox is definitely one of the most anticipated IPOs of 2017, and with a valuation of $10 billion it's certainly big enough to take the next step. Dropbox began consulting with advisers in summer 2016 about what a 2017 IPO would look like, so going public isn't a pipe dream by any means. One hurdle to a smooth 2017 IPO, however, could be Dropbox's lack of profitability, though it is reportedly free-cash-flow positive.
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WeWork. Through October 2016, WeWork, an office-rental company, had raised $1.7 billion in the private markets and was valued at $16.9 billion. But even more promising than its size -- at least for individual investors hoping to get a slice of the hot commodity -- is the fact that its CEO Adam Neumann said "we're not afraid of" going public. WeWork is certainly a novel idea: the company rents out office space by the desk to other companies who need a space to plop their employees.
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