So far this year, 43 companies have made their publicly traded debuts. As a whole, IPOs have experienced a solid year thus far, raising nearly $7 billion YTD and averaging returns of 22%. Last week alone, seven companies issued IPOs, including four companies trading at valuations of over $1 billion. Among them were popular online retailer Esty, which specializes in selling handmade goods, and high-frequency trading firm Virtu Financial (VIRT).
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$2.8 Billion In One Year
Slack, a relatively new messaging and communications application, specifically aimed at increasing business efficiency, has announced that it recently raised $160 million in new funding at a valuation of $2.8 billion. Its investors include big VC names like Accel Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, and Google Ventures. To date, Slack has raised $340 million of working capital to fund expansionary business strategies.
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Spoiled By Oil
In what has otherwise been a tumultuous year for the oil industry, some good news emerged this week as crude oil prices hit a new 2015 high. Since its $110 per barrel price in June 2014, Brent crude prices have crashed to below $50 per barrel; however, as of Wednesday, Brent crude bucked recent trends and ended the day at $64 per barrel. Unfortunately, this good news came at a cost.
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Facebook's Recent Release
Social media giant Facebook (FB) recently took a page out of AOL’s (ancient) playbook by creating a standalone desktop messaging platform similar to AIM (for those who remember, this was the greatest invention of all time). The goal of Facebook’s new PC application is to expand its user base, increase data collection, and generate higher revenues.
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How To Land Your Dream Job
Having trouble finding a job? Disappointed with the job you currently have? Feel like you’re destined to doing something else? Well LinkedIn (LNKD) is here to help. Last June, the company rolled out an iOS app specifically tailored to help disgruntled workers land their dream job. Almost a year later, LinkedIn has now released the app for Android users as an entirely redeveloped platform.
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5 Terrible Tech IPOs
2014 proved to be the year of initial public offerings (IPOs). In America alone, 275 companies issued common class stock, the most since 2000 (when over 400 companies engaged in IPOs). Led by Chinese E-Commerce giant Alibaba (BABA), U.S. IPOs in 2014 raised over $85 billion in capital, an increase of more than 40% Y/Y compared to 2013. Alibaba alone raised a record-breaking $22 billion, besting both Facebook’s (FB) 2012 IPO ($16 billion) and Visa’s (V) 2008 IPO ($17.8 billion).
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Finishing What Napster Started
After finalizing a deal to raise $400 million, the insanely popular music streaming service, Spotify, now sits among the elite private ranks of Uber, Snapchat, Airbnb, and Palantir. The newly announced private investment round, led by prestigious Goldman Sachs (GS), indicates that high profile Middle Eastern investors, in addition to traditional American VC firms, want in on Spotify's "Napster-like" business proceedings.
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