Compass is eyeing a $10 billion valuation with initial share prices between $23 and $26 for its initial public offering, the company revealed in an amended S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.
Robert Reffkin | Photo credit: Compass
Compass plans to offer 36 million class A shares in its initial public offering, which is being underwritten by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Barclays, who will all have the option to purchase an additional 5.4 million shares. The company says it hopes to raise $936 million from the initial public offering.
“Our ambition is to provide agents everything they need to serve their clients, grow their business, and realize their entrepreneurial potential, all in one place,” Compass CEO Robert Reffkin said in a letter that accompanied Compass’ S-1 filing.
“Simple, seamless, and integrated. We are replacing today’s complex, paper-driven home-buying and selling process with an all-digital, end-to-end platform that empowers real estate agents to deliver an exceptional experience to every buyer and seller.”
The New York City-based company first revealed it was going public in January, and disclosed its financials for the first time in early March. The company’s initial S-1 filing revealed company revenues of $3.7 billion in 2020, a huge leap from the $2.4 billion the company posted the year prior.
The filing also revealed that the growing company lost $270.2 million in 2020, as well as other details about the business including its cost-structures and the price of its biggest acquisitions.
Prior to taking the steps to go public, the company had raised $1.5 billion in equity funding, most of which came from the SoftBank Vision Fund, which, according to the initial filing, owns 34.8 percent of the company’s class A stock, although that number will now change with the IPO. The company was previously valued at $6.4 billion during its Series G funding round in July 2019.
The filing also revealed that Reffkin currently owns 2.4 percent of the company’s Class A common stock, but also 100 percent of the company’s class C common stock, which holds 20 times the voting power.
Reffkin, according to the filing from March 23, represents approximately 46% of the voting power of outstanding capital stock. If all outstanding equity awards held by Reffkin are vested and settled for additional Class C common stock, he would then hold approximately 69 percent of the voting power of the company’s capital stock.
“As a result, Reffkin will be able to determine or significantly influence any action requiring the approval of our stockholders, including the election of our board of directors, the adoption of amendments to our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, and the approval of any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets, or other major corporate transactions,” the filing says.
