- Reddit began trading its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “RDDT” on Thursday
- Shares of the company were set to debut 53 per cent higher than its initial public offering, giving the company a valuation of US$9.81 billion
- The company set its IPO for $34, however, it is believed its stock could open higher than $50
- Reddit is the first social media platform to go public since Pinterest in 2019
Reddit (NYSE:RDDT) shares debuted Thursday significantly above its initial public offering (IPO) price of US$34.
While the discussion platform unveiled the pricing of its public offering on Wednesday, shares of Reddit were expected to open higher than $50, which would have given the company a valuation of $9.81 billion.
As of market close, shares of Reddit were up 48.35 per cent to $50.44 after it had hit as high as $57.80. The company also garnered a market cap of just over $8 billion at the end of Thursday’s trading session.
In its offering, Reddit priced the offering of 22 million of its Class A common stock, with more than 15.27 million being sold by Reddit and 6.73 million being sold by certain stockholders.
According to the company, the pricing of its initial public offering of an aggregate 22 million shares of its Class A common stock, 15,276,527 of which are being sold by Reddit and 6,723,473 of which are being sold by certain selling stockholders, are $34 per share.
The IPO valued Reddit at $6.4 billion while the company and its shareholders raised roughly $748 million.
Reddit is also selling roughly 8 per cent of the total offering to board members and alleged friends and family members of board members and employees. Users and moderators who created an account on or before Jan. 1, 2024, are also potentially eligible for the directed share program, but must reside in the United States and be at least 18 years old. Eligible users and moderators are also to be in good standing on the platform and cannot be current or former Reddit employees.
Reddit applied for its IPO in 2021 after it hired its first chief financial officer.
Thursday marks the first time since Pinterest’s (NYSE:PINS) IPO back in 2019 that a major social media platform has gone public.
With its headquarters in San Francisco, the website was launched in 2005 by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian and has grown to have more than 70 million users peruse its website daily as of 2023.
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