Etsy, which operates an online marketplace for handmade or vintage items, filed on Wednesday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. However, the deal size is likely a placeholder for an IPO that could raise $300 million or more.
Etsy lists Amazon (AMZN), eBay (EBAY) and Alibaba (BABA) among its top competitors.
The last two e-commerce IPOs, Cnova (CNV) and Wayfair (W), trade below their IPO price. However, Etsy's marketplace model makes it more like Alibaba. The Chinese e-commerce titas has fallen nearly 22% in the past three months and now trades below its first-day close, but is still 26% above the offer price.
The Brooklyn, NY-based company, which was founded in 2005 and booked $196 million in sales for the 12 months ended December 31, 2014, plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol ETSY. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Allen & Company are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.
