IPO News: Here’s all you need to know about GitLab’s upcoming stock market debut

Technology companies continue to make a beeline for listing on public markets, to take advantage of the bull run the stock market is currently witnessing. Coding platform GitLab Inc. is among the latest IPO aspirants from the tech world. The company recently set the terms for its long-awaited stock market debut, which was delayed for more than a year.

8.4 Mln Shares

The San Francisco-based developer-operations firm looks to raise up to $505 million by offering around 8.4 million shares, which would value the company at about $9 billion. The offer price would be in the range of $55 to $60 per share. On receiving the SEC nod, the shares will start trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol GTLB. The company was valued at $6 billion after the last fundraising round.

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Read management/analysts’ comments on quarterly reports

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The group of book-runners in the offering will be led by JP Morgan and Bank of America Securities. The net proceeds from the offering will be used mainly for general corporate purposes and working capital. A part of the amount will also be used for suitable acquisitions and investment in technologies and solutions.

DevOps Lifecycle Tool

The Alphabet-backed company was founded in 2014 by Sytse Sijbrandij, who has served as the chief executive officer since then. It offers web-based tools that allow software developers to collaborate, thereby simplifying the process. Its clientele includes big names like The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GIS) and Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA). GitLab is touted as the world’s largest all-remote company without a headquarters.

In fiscal 2020, GitLab’s total revenues surged 87% to $152.2 million. However, net loss widened to $192.2 million or $3.82 per share from $130.4 million or $2.76 per share in the prior year, reflecting a 74% jump in operating expenses. The number of base customers totaled 3,632.

High Retention

At the end of the year, its dollar-based net retention rate stood at 148%, which marked a sharp year-over-year increase, underscoring the sustainability of the subscription model and a high level of customer success.

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On the flip side, GitLab is yet to generate profit. Also, the involvement of third-party open-source technologies and huge volumes of data puts the company at a high risk of security breaches. Though the company faces relatively less competition it needs to continue innovating in order to keep pace with the likes of GitHub, which joined the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) fold a few years ago in a $7.5 billion deal.