The direct listing space is expected to see some activity. Website creation platform Squarespace (SQSP) and online job marketplace ZipRecruiter (ZIP) are scheduled to direct-list on the NYSE this week and next, respectively.
Squarespace plans to list at an estimated market value of more than $10 billion. The company offers a SaaS platform than enables small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) and individual entrepreneurs to easily build and manage a professional-quality web presence. Squarespace has demonstrated strong growth, growing revenue by 28% in 2020 and 31% in the 1Q21, while maintaining a record of profitability. As of December 31, 2020, the company had 3.7 million unique subscriptions, and notes that there are an estimated 800 million small businesses globally that are potential customers.
ZipRecruiter plans to list at an estimated market value of more than $3 billion. ZipRecruiter is a two-sided marketplace for job postings, which has been utilized by over 2.8 million businesses and 110 million job seekers since its inception. Profitable with strong free cash flow generation, the company states that it has been the #1 rated job seeker app on iOS and Android for the past four years.
Squarespace and ZipRecruiter would be the third and fourth companies to choose direct listings over traditional IPOs this year, following Coinbase (COIN) and Roblox (RBLX). The highly-anticipated deals garnered a lot of attention from investors, and both saw plenty of initial enthusiasm. Since then, Coinbase has fallen flat down 37% from its initial opening trade. Roblox has continued to trade well in the aftermarket, last closing 16% above its initial opening trade.
Since 2018, there have been six major direct listings, highlighted below.
To view the table and read the rest of the article, sign up for a free trial of IPO Pro.
